CARROLLTON, Ga. – The University of West Georgia Baseball team is set to play their final road game of the regular season on Tuesday as the Wolves travel to Dahlonega for a 5:00 p.m. rematch against the North Georgia Nighthawks.
West Georgia (22-22, 13-14 GSC) comes into the final midweek game of the season, winners of three of their last four games, with wins coming over Georgia College and Mississippi College. As for North Georgia (30-15, 16-8 PBC), they enter, winners of four of their last five games, including an emphatic 21-2 win over No. 14 Lee.
Tuesday's matchup between UWG and North Georgia will be the second meeting of the year between the two teams. The first game took place back in March where the Nighthawks went into Carrollton and secured a 6-2 road win. Head coach
Jeff Smith used eight pitchers in what you would call a 'bullpen game', with
Jack Rasmussen,
Garrett Moody,
Brendan Parks,
Carson Crossley, and
Seth Dudley performing the best as the five combined to throw six shutout innings. On the offensive side,
Jack Witmer picked up two hits while
Luke Hatcher and
Mason Cooper drove in West Georgia's two runs.
Speaking of Crossley, he's been pitching as well as anyone on the Wolves' staff as he comes into Tuesday's game with a 1.91 ERA in his last eight outings. The senior got the start in UWG's midweek contest against Georgia College last Tuesday and after getting a full week of rest, Crossley will most likely get rewarded with another start, this time, against North Georgia.
After struggling at the plate to begin the month, right fielder
Luke Hatcher is officially out of his slump. The junior put together the best series of his 2024 campaign this past weekend against Mississippi College as he hit .429 with two home runs and four RBIs, leading the Wolves to their series win. Hatcher now leads West Georgia in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage, OPS, and extra base hits. While Hatcher has caught fire,
Beau Brand has emerged as a spark in UWG's lineup. Brand has started as the Wolves' designated hitter in the last seven games and now enters Tuesday's matchup with a four-game hitting streak, batting .417 in that stretch.
North Georgia has one of the better pitching staffs that West Georgia has seen this season as the Nighthawks have recorded a 4.76 team ERA which is lower than ever team in the GSC. North Georgia's ace is Dylan Noce who leads all starters with a 3.91 ERA, but it's very unlikely that the Wolves' will see the right-hander on Tuesday. UWG is more likely to face Jaret Bales or Andrew Cedano. Bales leads the Nighthawks with a 2.18 ERA and made his first start of the season last Tuesday against Lee where he shut down a high-powered Flames offense, throwing 4.2 innings while surrendering zero earned runs on three hits. As for Cedano, he's struggled at time this season as he brings a 5.79 ERA into Tuesday's rematch.
At the plate, North Georgia is batting .292 as a team and is led by their first baseman, Phillip Ard. Ard leads the Nighthawks in nearly all of the major offensive categories as the redshirt sophomore has put together a stat line of a .348 batting average, 10 home runs, 38 RBIs, .469 on-base percentage, and a 1.115 OPS. Ard has recorded 18 multi-hit games this season, including a 2-3 performance along with a home run and three RBIs against West Georgia back in March.
Ard is surrounded by talented players with Andrews Opata being a standout. Opata is hitting .294 on the year with four home runs, 33 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases which is tied for the team lead. UWG did a fantastic job of keeping Opata off the base paths in their first meeting as the sophomore went 0-4 at the plate.
First Pitch for Tuesday's game is set for 5:00 p.m.
