CARROLLTON, Ga. - The Gulf South Conference schedule began with a bang at Cole Field on Saturday afternoon as the West Georgia Wolves scored eight runs in the final four innings of Game 1 to take a 12-6 victory over West Alabama in Game 1 of the three-game series. In the nightcap,
Chase Townsend tossed a gem, powering the Wolves to a 4-3 victory and a Day 1 sweep.
"These two wins are huge," said head coach
Jeff Smith. "You play a double header on the opening day of the series and you can essentially win the series in one day and that's what our guys did. That doesn't mean our weekend is complete because we want to come out tomorrow and put ourselves in a position to sweep the series."
Game 1 - Wolves 12, Tigers 6
The heavy hitters came out for the Wolves in this one, with
Henry Daniels and
Logan Fink combining for seven hits as the Wolves moved to 5-1 on the season and 1-0 against GSC competition. The Tigers had six runs on 10 hits in the game, falling to 2-6 on the year and 0-1 against league opponents.
West Alabama drew first blood in this one, scoring four runs on three hits while taking advantage of an error from the Wolves in the second inning off of UWG starter
Bay Witcher. The Wolves responded with a run in the second on a
Tyler Presnell sacrifice fly, then added two more in the third inning.
The bottom of the third opened with a walk from
Anthony Calabro, followed by a double from Daniels, giving UWG runners at second and third with no outs.
Jared Emory brought Calabro home with a sacrifice fly, then Fink singled to bring home Daniels and cut the Tiger lead to 4-3.
The Wolves tied things up with a run in the fourth, then blew the doors open in the sixth with four runs in the frame.
Cade Hohl opened the sixth reaching base when he was hit by a ptich, followed by a single from Calabro. The Wolves loaded the bases, but a double-play stopped some of the momentum, but Hohl scored on the play to take a 5-4 lead. Fink followed with a two-run homer and
Cooper Prince scored later in the inning during a rundown to give the Wolves an 8-4 lead.
On the mound for the Wolves,
Jonathan Hickman threw 3.2 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit and striking out two.
Peyton Berry worked 2.1 innings, striking out three in his first GSC outing in two years.
Ryan Whitener closed out the game with a perfect ninth inning.
"Bay struggled with some secondary pitch command today, but the thing is that is just his second time being on the mound this season," said Smith. "You're going to have those struggles at times, but we still have a ton of confidence in Bay, but our guys came in and did an outstanding job from the pen to keep their offense off the board to give our offense a chance,"
Fink was 4-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI while Daniels was 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.
"Offesnively we did a good job and we understand we won't get that run production every game, but what we need to make sure we do is when we get runners in scoring position, we have to move them across and compete when things get tight," added Smith.
Game 2 - Wolves 4, Tigers 3
Townsend was on fire in Game 2, throwing 5 1/3 innings with one run on four hits allowed. The junior transfer from Kennesaw State struck out five batters to pick up his first victory in a UWG uniform.
"Chase threw extrememly well," said Smith. "He ran out of gas towards the end but he commanded the zone well and kept their hitters off balance, and most importantly he limited the free passes."
The Wolves gave Townsend all the support he would need in the first two innings, opening up with a leadoff single and an eventual run from
Cade Hohl. The Purdue transfer worked his way around the basepaths, then scored on a passed ball on ball four to Daniels, giving the Wolves a 1-0 lead.
A three-spot came from a two-out rally in the Wolves' half of the second inning after West Alabama generated a run in the top of the inning.
Sam Ladner started the rally with a one-out single, then moved to third on
Jackson Webb's double. Two batters later, Hohl singled, bringing home Ladner and Webb for a 3-1 lead.
Anthony Calabro singled, followed by an infield single from Daniels that scored Hohl for the 4-1 advantage.
West Alabama scored two runs in the top of the seventh, but
Jackson Hodnick closed the door, working the final 1 2/3 innings to finish out the game. Hohl and Webb each had two hits to lead the UWG offensive attack in the game.
The same two teams will be back in action on Sunday afternoon at Cole Field, with first pitch in the series finale set for 1 p.m.
