DAHLONEGA, Ga. – No. 20 UWF baseball (27-13, 17-6 GSC) fell in the series opener at North Georgia (24-15, 15-9 PBC) Tuesday evening 9-8. The Argos scored six times in the top of the seventh to erase an 8-2 lead before the Nighthawks reclaimed the lead and held on for the victory.
Matthew Jones keyed the late inning rally with a grand slam that Matt Sullivan followed with a solo shot of his own to tie the game at 8-8. Brandon Harmon finished 2 for 4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
Hunter Lucas got the start for the Argos and was tagged for six runs (only two earned) over the first three innings. The Argo defense struggled early, committing three errors that helped the Nighthawks build a 6-1 lead after three complete.
Jared Gonzalez came out of the bullpen to relieve Lucas in the fourth and surrendered two runs in the fifth as UNG built the lead to 8-1. Harmon cut the deficit with a solo homer in the sixth before adding an RBI single in the seventh to cue the rally. Jones would take UNG relief man Parker Morrison for a grand slam with two outs before Sullivan followed with a blast of his own to tie the game.
The Nighthawks reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the 7th. Steven Tomlinson tagged Gonzalez led off the frame with a double before advancing on a passed ball and scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jake Arnold with Avery Geyer on the mound. The Argo bats were unable to reach scoring position in either the eighth or ninth against Morrison, who moved to 3-1 with the win.
Gonzalez (2-1) suffered the loss after surrendering four hits and three runs (two earned) in three innings of work. North Georgia starter Brock Carter took a no-decision after allowing just three hits and three runs (three earned) in 6.1 innings. Geyer was not credited with either a hit or run in finishing the final two innings on the mound for the Argos.
UNG outhit UWF 11-6. The loss dropped the Argos to 9-9 on the road this season. The teams will close the series with a single game tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. CT.
#ARGOS#
