CARROLLTON, Ga. - In the second series of the season, West Georgia baseball blanked the Ohio University Bobcats 3-0 on a chilly Friday in Georgia. Game two is set for tomorrow at 3 p.m.

A combination of Lane Pearson's stellar pitching and Landon Weidner's pivotal seventh-inning home run powered the Wolves (3-1) to victory over the Bobcats (0-4) at Cole Field. Pearson finished the day giving up just three hits while striking out eight batters in his seven innings of work. 

Following the game, head coach Jeff Smith talked about what he saw today, stating, "Our guys went out there and competed. There was no panic in them. They just played with a lot of confidence. Lane (Pearson) goes out and gives a quality start and keeps them at bay. They (Ohio) have some good hitters. They are a very good team. We played error free baseball and were able to chip in some runs late. I'm happy for the guys."

Starting on the mound for the Wolves today was right-handed pitcher Lane Pearson. On Opening Day, Pearson let up just four hits and one run while striking out seven batters through six frames. Taking on the pitching duties for the Bobcats today was Blake Gaskey. The senior right-handed pitcher let up eight runs off of six hits in his three innings of work last week at Wofford. Prior to this series, he posted an 18.90 ERA.

Picking up from where he left off last week, Pearson opened today striking out anyone that he faced. Through the first three frames, the right-handed pitcher struck out five of the opening ten batters and gave up one hit.

During the third inning, Cooper Prince jacked his third triple of the season, tying him for first in the country in this statistic. Sadly, the Bobcats did just enough to escape the inning with the game still tied at zero. 

With both teams struggling to locate the pitches, the score stayed knotted up at 0-0. That was until right fielder Landon Weidner crushed his first homer of the season over the left side fence during the seventh.

Heading into the eighth, UWG led 1-0. This frame also marked the ending of Pearson's day. Through seven scoreless innings, Pearson let up just three hits and struck out a career-high eight batters. He would be replaced by left-handed pitcher Brendan Parks. 

During the eighth, West Georgia added a pair of insurance runs off of RBIs by junior infielders Carter Dierdorf and Patrick McCullough, pushing the UWG lead to 3-0.

Even with the Bobcats loading the bases in the ninth, Parks pitched his way out of the frame to secure the Wolves a 3-0 out-of-conference win over Ohio.

BY THE NUMBERS
For the second straight weekend, pitcher Lane Pearson put together another fantastic showing. Pearson's early season brilliance is evident in his 0.69 ERA and a staggering 15 strikeouts, a feat that ranks him first in the country in punch outs (through two games).

Brendan Parks secured his second save of the season today. In his two innings this afternoon, Parks let up one hit and struck out four batters, bringing his season total to nine punch outs. 

Cooper Prince also secured his third triple of the season, tying him for first in this statistic in the country.

As a team, the Wolves out-hit the Bobcats 8-4.

When talking about today's solid showing at the plate, coach Smith said, "The guys are having good quality bats in the box. Not forcing anything. The team is doing well. I'm pleased with the way we are competing at the plate."

UP NEXT
The Wolves and Bobcats return to Cole Field tomorrow for game two of this out of conference series. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.

UWG is expected to pitch right-handed junior Sam Cole. In his first ever appearance for the Wolves, the Saint Leo transfer allowed just four hits and one run through his five innings of work. Cole also struck out three of the 22 batters he faced. 

It is unknown who the Bobcats will pitch tomorrow. In last weekend's game two, Ohio went with senior left-handed pitcher Dillon Masters. In his four innings on the mound, Masters struck out five batters, walked four and let up three hits, but did not get scored on.