CARROLLTON, Ga. - West Georgia dropped both games of the doubleheader with the Shorter Hawks on Sunday Evening.
 
In game one, the Wolves (11-9, 4-7 GSC) lost a late lead, dropping the contest 4-3 in 10 innings. In game two, the Wolves ran into one of the hottest pitchers in Division II in Jonathan Pintaro, losing 6-3. 
 
Game One
On the mound for the Wolves in game one was Robert Coleman, and he turned in his best performance of the 2022 campaign, going seven innings, allowing just one run, six hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts.
 
"Rob threw the ball really well through seven innings, scattering six hits. He did extremely well and exactly what we needed in that game" said Smith. 
 
The Wolves threatened several times in the first two innings, but a strike 'em out - throw' em out would end the first, and a Brody Wortham strikeout with the bases loaded ended the second. 
 
West Georgia finally broke into the runs column in the third inning. After a walk by Collin Moore and a single by Sam Ladner, Jonathan Logsdon hit a ground ball to the third baseman, and an error allowed Moore to put the Wolves up 1-0 after three innings of play. 
 
With Coleman dealing, the game turned into a pitchers duel as neither side allowed another run until the sixth inning. 
 
In that sixth inning, Shorter finally broke through, thanks to three consecutive hits. Pajer would get a one out single, but then was promptly picked off by Coleman. A two out single by Weaver and a double by Tilly removed the goose egg from the board, tying the game at one apiece.
 
The Wolves immediately answered with two of their own in the bottom half of the same inning. Jackson Webb led off the inning with a single, and back-to-back sacrifice at bats put Webb on third with two outs. Edgar Cruz delivered a two out single, scoring Webb. Just two batters later, Brody Wortham delivered his own RBI single, scoring Cruz, putting the Wolves up 3-1 headed into the seventh. 



Ezra Brown was the first man out of the pen for Jeff Smith, pitching a clean inning to send the game to the ninth and set up for closer Ronny Piepmeier.
 
The game remained at that score until the top of the ninth, when the Hawks scratched across a pair of runs on no hits off of Piepmeier, tying the game at three a piece. Austyn Wright was tasked to come in with a tie game to keep the score level, which is exactly what the lefty did. 
 
With the Wolves unable to answer in the bottom of the inning, the contest headed to extra innings, deadlocked at three. 
 
In the extra frame, Shorter advanced the runner from second to third with a sac bunt, and would get him across the plate with a sac fly later in the inning. 
 
In the Wolves half of the 10th, they also advanced the runner to third with a sac bunt, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat and the game, with the Hawks stealing game one by a score of 4-3. 
 
"We just weren't able to hold on to the lead, and we've got to be better than that, especially late in games." said Smith.



Game Two
Game two was dominated by the Hawks and starting pitcher Jonathan Pintaro. Pintaro pitched a complete game, allowing just eight hits, three runs, three walks, and an astounding 14 strikeouts. 
 
The Wolves would trot out Jack Rasmussen to try and combat the hard throwing righty from the Hawks, but Rasmussen would only make it through 1.2 innings, giving up four hits, five runs, two walks and one strikeout. 
 
West Georgia jumped on Pintaro early, scoring one in the bottom of the first, thanks to a Jackson Webb RBI single, scoring Collin Moore who had a single of his own earlier in the inning. 
 
Immediately after, in the top of the second inning, the Hawks erupted for five runs, with RBI singles coming from Harkins and Pajer, followed by a two RBI double by Weaver. Jonathan Hickman would be the man out of the bullpen for Jeff Smith, as the right hander shut down the Shorter offense in the second and for the rest of the game.
 
"We couldn't scratch enough across once they got the five spot. You take that one inning away and we give ourselves a chance to win the game." Smith said.
 
In the very next inning, the Hawks added another run to their tally, on a Tyler McWillie solo HR, putting the score at 6-1 after three innings. 
 
In the fourth, Anthony Calabro got the Wolves going again with a one out double, immediately followed by an Edgar Cruz RBI single, cutting the lead to 6-2. 
 
With Hickman shutting down the Hawks offense, the Wolves struck again, this time in the sixth inning. Calabro would draw a one out walk, and Logan Fink would come through with an RBI single, trimming the lead to 6-3. 
 
Hickman finished out the seventh inning, ending with 5.1 innings, allowing just one run, one hit, two walks, and eight strikeouts. Hickman kept the Wolves in the game, with a chance to win it in the seventh and final inning. 
 
"Hickman came in and did exactly what this team needed. He kept it where it needed to be, only giving up one run over the course of six innings pitched." Smith said. 
 
In that seventh inning, the Wolves scored the tying run to the plate, but come up short, dropping game two of the double header, and the series. 
 
"They fought back and did extremely well. This team is never out of it, and we just have to limit some mistakes. We're going to be playing a lot of games here at home the rest of the season so we should be able to get on a roll." said Smith summarizing his team's effort in game two.
 
The Wolves will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Dahlonega, GA to take on the University of North Georgia. First pitch is set for 5p.m.