CARROLLTON, Ga. – A ninth inning Logan Taylor walk off home run provided a day two split on Saturday as the Wolves baseball team fell in game one of the doubleheader but prevailed on Taylor's heroics to win the series over the 10th-ranked Bellarmine Knights.
On a day where the Wolves couldn't seem to get the big hit, going 2-22 with runners in scoring position, Logan Taylor provided the biggest of them all as the Wolves took a 6-4 game three after falling 8-5 earlier in the day. For the series, the Wolves outscored the Knights 26-14.
Game One
The Knights jumped all over the Wolves in the first, scoring four on one swing of the bat as Matt Higgins took Greyson McLeod deep for a first inning grand slam.
Bellarmine then doubled their lead as Jacob Mulcahy drove in a pair with a two bagger to left center. Zac Wiley then went deep off of UWG reliever Cason Greathouse to make it 8-0 in the second. Greathouse then settled in and pitched seven innings and allowed just one hit after the homer and struck out six.
The Wolves cut the deficit in half in the third inning as Tucker Breen led off with a walk and then advanced to third on a Cade Marlowe double. Both of those runners came in to score on a two-RBI single from Brady Barnes. Drew Haywood then drove in another run with a double down the left field line to cut it to 8-3. Brody Wortham picked up an RBI the easy way as he drew a bases loaded walk.
In the fourth, the Wolves added a fifth run on a Dan Oberst double that scored Logan Taylor.
On the day, West Georgia was plagued by 12 men left on base and a 2-for-11 showing at the plate with runners in scoring position.
Haywood led the Wolves offensively with a 3-for-4 performance in game one of the day while Marlowe and Oberst also chipped in with multi-hit games each going 2-for-4. Barnes finished 1-for-5 with two RBI.
Game Two
The second game of the afternoon started with the Knight once again grabbing a first inning lead as Matt Higgins drove in the game's first run on a sac fly to left field.
The Wolves then tied it up on a Joseph Hill home run in third, and then took a two-run lead in the fifth when Cade Marlowe went dee for the third time this season.
Bellarmine then responded with a Deylen Miley home run of their own that scored a pair of runs to tie the game at 3-3. West Georgia got a runner into scoring position in each of the sixth and seventh inning but could not push across the go ahead run.
In extras, Bellarmine hit yet another home run to go up 4-3 in the in the eighth, and put the pressure on the Wolves. Jermond Williams struck out to begin the inning, but reached on a wild pitch. A walk and another wild pitch later, the Wolves had two runners in scoring position with no outs. The Bellarmine pitcher then got back-to-back strikeouts and head coach Skip Fite went to his bench. Joe Skinner was down to his last strike when he ripped a line drive to short that was misplayed, allowing a run to score and tie the game.
In the ninth, it was Taylor who provided the fireworks as his deep home run to left field won the game and the series for the Wolves. Taylor finished game two going 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI.
Fite and the Wolves used four pitchers on the day, but it was Drew Hayles who got the win, pitching a scoreless ninth inning.
Up Next
The Wolves remain home for midweek action next week, hosting Georgia College at Cole Field on Wednesday, February 13 at 3 p.m.
