ATLANTA, Ga. - The West Georgia baseball team dropped their first midweek game of the season, 16-7, to the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech this Wednesday at Mac Nease Baseball Park.

The Wolves (4-3) went toe-to-toe with Georgia Tech (7-2) with Carter Dierdorf leading the charge, but a late Yellow Jackets' scoring explosion pushed the hosts past UWG. GT scored eight runs after the seventh.

In his five at-bats, Dierdorf tallied four RBIs and one run off of three hits. These three hits were made up of two RBI doubles and a solo homer.

Following the game, head coach Jeff Smith said, "Well, tonight I was proud of our guys. They played extremely hard. We competed with them in the first six innings. I mean, we swung the bats, we were right there, down one going into the seventh, and the mistakes caught up with us. Ten walks, we just can't do that. It just came back to bite us a little bit there. We just got to continue to work and get ourselves ready for the weekend."

Making his debut on the mound today for the Wolves was right-handed junior Evimael Quiles. Transferring from Eastern Florida, Quiles posted an 8.69 ERA with 17 punchouts through his 19.2 innings of work last season. Also making a debut, the Yellow Jackets started with right-handed freshman Connor Chicoli. As a high schooler, Chicoli was rated as the No. 22 shortstop in the country, the 83rd overall prospect in his class and the 9th best recruit out of the state of Georgia by Perfect Game.
Despite Georgia Tech's early second-inning scoring threat, placing two of their opening batters on base, solid pitching and textbook fielding helped the Wolves escape the second with the game still locked at one apiece.

During the following frame, Dierdorf put the Wolves up 3-1 after crushing his second RBI double of the day, this time down the right field line. 

Coming out to the mound for UWG in the fourth was right-handed pitcher Camden Diamond. Through three frames, Quiles finished the day striking out two batters while letting up two runs off of three hits. Before this fourth was over, Diamond would be replaced by left-handed junior Will Dean after GT scored three quick runs, ending the inning up 5-3. 

In the fifth, the Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 6-3 on an RBI triple that ricocheted off the center field wall. 

Following this 5-0 scoring swing, the Wolves came alive in the sixth. Continuing his stellar day at the plate, Dierdorf jump-started the UWG scoring run with a solo homer, marking his fourth of the season. Before the frame was over, UWG had the Yellow Jackets reeling with the Wolves hungry for more. Following the UWG homer, a wild pitch in the dirt allowed junior infielder Blake Bradford to take home. Then, redshirt sophomore catcher Hank Smith placed a shot through the right side for an RBI single, locking the game up at 6-6. West Georgia ended the top of the inning with a tight 7-6 advantage thanks to an RBI single to center field by Prince. Heading into the seventh, Georgia Tech had reclaimed a narrow 8-7 lead off of a two-run homer. 

Before the Yellow Jackets went back up to bat, the Wolves relieved Dean of his pitching duties. In three innings, Dean allowed three runs off of four hits while striking out three batters. A pair of Wolves would rotate on and off the mound before right-handed junior Ian Moore got UWG out of the tough inning. GT finished the seventh up 14-7.

The Yellow Jackets went on to win 16-7 after they added two more runs in the eighth. 

BY THE NUMBERS
Carter Dierdorf again showcased his hitting ability, finishing today with a team-high three hits made up of a pair of doubles and a home run. This brings his season home run total to four. 

GT finished the day holding a tight 17-14 hitting edge over the Wolves.
UP NEXT
The Wolves welcome Eastern Kentucky and Mississippi Valley State to Cole Field this weekend for the West Georgia Round Robin Tournament. A full schedule can be found below. 

Friday 
5 p.m. - EKU vs MVSU

Saturday 
11 a.m. - EKU vs MVSU
2 p.m. - UWG vs EKU
5 p.m. - UWG vs MVSU

Sunday
12 p.m. - UWG vs MVSU