MOBILE, Ala. – UWF baseball (29-16, 18-8 GSC) won its final non-conference game of the season in runaway fashion Tuesday evening at Spring Hill (24-17, 15-1 SIAC), scoring a 19-5 victory. Nick Kerkmann racked up a career-best 6 RBIs, and the Argos cruised to a win after opening an 8-0 lead in the second inning.
"Hopefully we got plenty of at-bats and got our timing back down, swinging the bats a little bit," said UWF head coach Mike Jeffcoat. "I thought we could have pitched a little better. Still had too many walks. It happens sometimes with focus maybe in a game like this, but we needed to get back on the winning ways, regardless of how it happens, after last week. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into the weekend."
Hunter Lucas (2-0) got the start for the Argos and pitched into the fifth, striking out three and walking four while surrendering four runs (three earned).
"I thought [Lucas] was solid," said Jeffcoat. "Again, I know he's got better command than what he's showing. We've got to get his offspeed pitches in the strike zone a lot more consistently and mix speeds a lot better. But he battled."
Jared Gonzalez pitched the fifth and the sixth before Alex Knight returned to the mound for the first time in a month to pitch the seventh. Knight, who has been limited by an injury in the second half of the season, threw for the first time since Mar. 24.
"We dropped [his release point] down a little bit to take some of the pressure off his elbow," said Jeffcoat of Knight, who owned the team's lowest ERA (0.57) coming into the night. "He felt good doing that, and we wanted to get him an inning tonight."
Kerkmann paced the Argos with four hits, including a solo home run in the fifth. He scored three times. Robert Lopez and Matt Jones also went deep for the Argos. Lopez's two-run blast off SHC starter Nicholas Dempsey (0-1) cued an eight-run second inning. Jones went deep for a three-run shot in the fifth. The home run was his team-best eighth of the season. Kerkmann immediately followed with a solo blast of his own.
The Argos outhit the Badgers 15-10. Jones and Matthew Estrada each reached five times in the game. Estrada, Jones, Kerkmann, Matt Sullivan, Bryant Harris Jr. and Brandon Harmon all scored multiple runs. Lopez reached drew three walks in addition to his home run. With UWF up by more than 10 after seven innings, the run-rule was triggered and the game was called.
UWF closes the regular season this weekend against Valdosta State. The key three-game series, which will have playoff implications for both teams, begins at Jim Spooner Field Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
"They're going to come out playing hard," said Jeffcoat of Valdosta State. "They need to sweep to get into the tournament, so they need the victories as much as we do. We're looking for a battle, and we've got to play our best baseball."
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