CARROLLTON, Ga. - Seesaw battle. Back-and-forth affair. Roller coaster day.
All of these phrases would be a great way to describe the UWG baseball series finale on Saturday in Jackson, Tenn., but at the end of the day, the final score was all that mattered as the Wolves were on the top side of a 10-7 score to win game three and take the series over the Bulldogs. That marks the second consecutive series victory for the Wolves, moving the record to 11-7 on the year and 4-5 against Gulf South Conference opponents.
The first two innings were a pitcher's duel between UWG starter
Jonathan Hickman and Union starter A.J. Zeak. Both kept the opposing team scoreless heading into the top of the third. The Wolves were able to draw first blood in this one as
Cody Mish opened a rally in the top of the third with a one-out single. After MIsh advanced to second on a wild pitch,
Collin Moore and
Sam Ladner drew back-to-back walks.
Fuzzy Furr got behind in the count 0-2 but worked it back to a full count and drew the walk, bringing Mish home for the first run of the game.
Hickman allowed a hit in the bottom of the inning, but quickly got out of that and put the game back in the hands of his hitters. The Wolves scored another run in the fourth with much less work involved as
Edgar Cruz belted a two-out solo home run over the left field fence to push the lead to 2-0.
Another inning and another cruise by Hickman, who allowed a runner in the bottom of the fourth, but nothing else. Union finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth for three runs, with the biggest shot coming off the bat of Josh Bozoian, who delivered a two-run homer for the 3-2 lead.
The top of the sixth was a big moment for West Georgia, as the Wolves regained the lead with three runs scored.
Anthony Calabro delivered for one of his three RBI on the day as the sophomore was 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored to go with his runs driven in. Cruz, who was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI also drove in a run in the inning on a sacrfice fly, one of five RBI on the weekend for him. Calabro was the third run, scoring on a wild pitch, making it 5-3 in favor of the Wolves just before a single from
Brody Wortham. That extend his hitting streak to 31 games, dating back to the 2021 season.
After a solo home run from
Sam Ladner gave West Georgia a 6-3 lead in the top of the seventh, the pendulum made it's way back to the other dugout as Union pushed four runs across in the bottom half of the inning for a 7-6 lead.
In the eighth, however, the Wolves began to put the game away as Calabro led off with a double followed by a Cruz single to tie the game at 7-7. Moore delivered on a sacrifice fly later in the inning, scoring Cruz with what would become the game-winning run. In the ninth, Calabro again gave the Wolves a little more cushion with a two-RBI single for the final tally of the day.
GSC Weekend Inside the Numbers
- Cruz was on fire at the plate this weekend, going 5-for-8 with three runs scored, a home run and five RBI. He raised his batting average nearly 70 points to .341.
- Calabro also raised his batting average on the weekend, going from .286 to .338 after a 7-for-12 weekend at the plate. He had a homer, six RBI, four runs scored and had an on-base percentage of .615.
- Wortham continued to swing a hot bat, going 6-for-13 with a double and three RBI. He walked once and was hit twice and extended his hitting streak to 31 games.
- Ezra Brown had two scoreless appearances over the weekend, going 2.2 innings with five strikeouts and he picked up a save in Saturday's win.
- Ronny Piepmeier had two saves on the week, including one this weekend against Union and another against Georgia Southwestern. He allowed no hits in 2.2 innings of work.
- Dom Murgo III had 3.0 innings of work in two appearances this week, striking out three and allowing just two hits.
West Georgia will be back in action on Tuesday at home, taking on the Georgia College Bobcats in non-conference action at 4:00 p.m.
