CARROLLTON, Ga. - On a chilly day at Cole Field, the University of West Georgia baseball team took both sides of a double header with the Emory & Henry Wasps on Saturday afternoon.
Game One: UWG 3, E&H 2
Game One was the definition of a pitcher's duel as both starting pitchers worked into the eighth inning and kept both offenses off the scoreboard until the late innings.
Emory & Henry (8-18, 2-7 SAC) got the scoring started right off the bat as a two out single from Cole Cunningham brought home the first run of the game, giving the Wasps a 1-0 lead before the Wolves had a chance to hit.
In the bottom of the first, the Wolves (19-4, 9-3 GSC) got a lead off single from
Sam Ladner, but three straight outs ended the first inning with E&H on top.
In the fourth, the Wasps added to their lead tallying four hits, all singles, in the inning and added just one run after
Peyton Berry stranded the bases loaded keeping the score 2-0.
After being held in check for most of the game,
Anthony Calabro finally broke through for UWG in the bottom of the fourth with a two out solo home run cutting the deficit in half heading to the fifth.
In the bottom of the sixth,
Sam Ladner once again led off the inning with a hit, this time a double setting up the Wolves in prime position to cut into the lead.
Cade Hohl followed with a sac bunt to move Ladner to third, and Daniels brought him home with a sac fly to even the score at two a piece through six innings.
In the seventh, the Wolves finally took their first lead of the game when
Jared Emory hit a home run out of left field, as UWG took a 3-2 lead into the eighth.
Andrew Smith relieved Berry in the eighth, as the senior finished with 7.1 innings, 10 hits allowed, two runs, and four strikeouts. Smith recorded the next two outs to keep the score 3-2 going to the bottom half.
The Wolves got nothing in the bottom half, and the duo of Smith and
Ezra Brown combined to shut down the Wasps in the top of the ninth to secure the game one victory.
Ladner finished as the leading hitter, going 4-4 and having four of the seven hits in the game for the Wolves, while Calabro and Emory finished with a home run a piece. The bullpen effort of Smith and Brown combined for 1.2 innings, allowing no hits or runs and striking out one.
Game Two: UWG 9, E&H 1
Neither side got their first hit until the third inning, and while the Wasps could not cash in, the Wolves did.
Jackson Webb started things in the bottom half with a one out double immediately followed by an
Edgar Cruz RBI single to put UWG on top 1-0. Three batters later,
Henry Daniels doubled to deep left, scoring two more, putting the Wolves up 3-0 going to the fourth.
With starter
Bay Witcher cruising on the mound, the Wolves kept the bats hot in the bottom of the fourth with a lead off single by
Cooper Prince. Emory continued his hot day as he launched his second home run of the day one batter later, adding two more to the lead. Ladner brought home another with a sac fly later in the inning, putting the Wolves up 6-0 into the fifth.
In that fifth inning, the Wolves kept the pressure up following three straight singles from Calabro, Fink, and Prince, loading the bases with no outs. Emory, the very next batter, missed a grand slam by inches, but still drove in a run making it 7-0. Following a double steal,
Jackson Webb found himself in a position for an RBI chance and he delivered with a SAC fly of his own, sending us to the sixth with an 8-0 lead in favor of UWG.
The Wasps got on the board for the first time in the top of the sixth after a lead off double came around to score on a one out single from McCray Sawyers, but Witcher got the very next batter to ground into a 1-6-3 double play to limit the damage to just one run.
The Wolves continued their scoring rampage in the sixth with
Sam Ladner leading off the inning with a solo home run, getting that run right back. Daniels added a single later in the inning, but could not come across to score and the Wolves took a 9-1 lead into the seventh and final inning.
Witcher returned to the mound to complete the game he started and despite allowing a two out walk, got the final three outs, pitching his first complete game of the season.
Daniels and Prince led the way with two hits a piece, and
Jared Emory led the team with three RBI's. In his seven innings of work, Witcher allowed seven hits, one earned run, two walks, and struck out one.
The Wolves and Wasps will conclude the three game series tomorrow afternoon at 12:00 p.m. at Cole Field.
