PENSACOLA, Fla. — The fifth-ranked North Georgia baseball team got off to a quick start and finished strong Tuesday evening at Jim Spooner Field, handing West Florida a 7-1 loss in the first game of the annual two-game set. The Nighthawks move to 26-7 on the year with the victory.
Michael Bell drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single to right in the top of the first that plated Connor Hoover from third to give UNG an early 1-0 lead. Hoover would drive in a run of his own in the next inning with a sacrifice fly to center that scored Steven Tomlinson double the Nighthawk lead.
Conner Corbitt picked up a two-out RBI single up the middle in the third to extend the lead to 3-0. The Argonauts finally kept North Georgia off the board in the top of the fourth and got on the board themselves in the home half of the inning two-out RBI single through the left side, to pull within two.
UNG would answer immediately in the next frame though, scoring two runs, including a sac fly to right by Tomlinson that put North Georgia up 5-1.
The Nighthawks added some insurance in the seventh with an Andres Perez RBI double down the right field line and an RBI single to right by Devin Gearhart extending the lead to 7-1, which proved final.
NOTES
- Josh Bryan (2-0) picked up the win in relief for the Nighthawks pitching 5.1 innings of shutout ball, allowing just one baserunner on a single hit with four strikeouts.
- Blake Gaubert got his first start of the season and though his pitch count ran high early, he allowed just one run on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts in his 3.2 innings pitched.
- Bill Leroy continued his hot hand at the plate with a 3-for-4 performance with a run scored.
- Six different Nighthawks drove in runs on the night.
- This marks the first win for North Georgia in Pensacola since 2010. UNG takes the slightest of leads in the all-time series with the win at 12-11.
NEXT UP
The two teams will square off again tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. CDT.
