CARROLLTON, Ga. - Cooper Prince had not one, but two walkout hits on Saturday, helping the baseball team to a pair of wins in Saturday's doubleheader against Shorter, and sweeping the Hawks in the three-game series at Cole Field.
West Georgia (8-6, 5-1 GSC) won game one in a high-scoring 14-13 with Prince singling home a run in the ninth, while Shorter (9-5) 6-1 in the finale before Prince capped off a six-run seventh with a two-RBI single to complete the sweep.
GAME ONE: West Georgia, 14-13
The first game of Saturday's twin bill had 29 combined hits and 27 combined runs. It featured five lead changes and the first of Prince's heroic acts.
West Georgia got off to a 3-0 lead in the second, getting back-to-back singles before Patrick McCullough doubled home the game's first run in the form of Cade Hohl. The next batter was Prince who singled home two, giving UWG starter Seth Dudley an early lead.
Dudley cruised through the early innings, surrendering just one run in the third before Shorter tagged Dudley with four in the fourth.
But the Wolves offense responded with five runs in their half of the fourth, starting the frame with a leadoff double by Jared Emory. Jackson Webb then drove in Emory before a walk and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. Walt McConnell then singled home a run and another scored on an error, chasing the Shorter starter, Tanner Folds. A second Shorter error in the inning pushed another across and Sam Ladner would drive in the inning's fifth run, making it an 8-5 lead for UWG.
McCullough picked up another RBI in the fifth, and Hohl would score on a wild pitch after a double, and the Wolves lead would get to five, at 10-5.
Both teams got two each in the sixth, the Wolves' runs courtesy of a two-run home run by Emory, and then Shorter went to work in the seventh.
A leadoff walk and five hits provided the damage as Shorter flipped the script with a six-run inning to claim a 14-13 lead.
West Georgia tied it up with a single run in the seventh, and with the game tied in the ninth, Hohl and Mason Cooper reached and moved into scoring position on another hit from McCullough before Prince singled home both, providing the Wolves with a game two win.
Prince would finish game one 3-for-4 with three RBIs while Emory, Hohl, and Webb recorded two-hit games with Emory and McCullough picking up a pair of RBIs each.
UWG would use four pitchers in the win with Carson Crossley picking up the win after tossing 2.1 innings of shutout relief.
GAME TWO: West Georgia, 7-6
In the series finale, West Georgia never led until Prince's walkout single, and Shorter wasted no time in getting out front, getting a solo shot from the second hitter of the game, and adding two more in the second to go up 3-0.
West Georgia didn't get on the board until the fourth when Jack Witmer reached on an error and then scored on an RBI-single from Mason Cooper.
Shorter then scored a run in the sixth and two in the seventh to go up 6-1 with the Wolves down to their last three outs.
Prince would start the frame with a leadoff walk, followed by another walk and then back-to-back singles from Luke Hatcher and Ladner, the latter of which scored Prince. Myles Cook then picked up an RBI with the bruise to prove it as he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, making it 6-3. Two batters later, Hohl drew a bases loaded walk, as did the next batter Cooper, and all of a sudden the Wolves had cut the deficit to one. With the bases loaded and two outs, Prince was at it again, singling home Cooper and Hohl, pushing the Wolves into the lead for the first time in the finale, completing a big sweep in conference play.
Prince was 4-for-4 in game three, finishing Saturday's DH a combined 7-for-8 with five RBIs. Ladner also had a three-hit game in the finale with Cooper picking up two RBIs.
Nick Swanson got the win on the mound for the Wolves as he recorded the final out of the seventh before the Wolves epic comeback earned him his first win of the season.
West Georgia will be back at Cole Field on Tuesday for midweek action, hosting Augusta in a 4 p.m. contest in what is the fourth meeting between the two teams.
