MT. BERRY - The Berry College baseball team was excited about its season opener Tuesday afternoon against North Georgia College at Bowdoin Field, but the Vikings had trouble "handling" the Saints' starting pitcher. <br>
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Greg Handley, a left-handed senior from Fayetteville pitched five strong innings for North Georgia and helped the Saints take a 5-3 road win. <br>
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On a bright, sunny, chilly afternoon, the Saints struck first on a sacrifice fly from junior C.J. Hocevar that scored senior Nick Deckon in the top of the first inning. <br>
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However, Berry took the lead in the bottom of the inning, when senior Josh Gernatt doubled to right field to score junior Lance Culpepper and junior Jared Kime later singled home Gernatt. <br>
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North Georgia tied the score at 2-2 when junior David Loder hit a sacrifice fly, and the Saints took the lead for good with two runs in the fourth. <br>
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Deckon doubled home one run and later scored on a wild pitch by Berry junior starter Nate Mosteller. In the top of the fifth, freshman Bryan Brinson had an RBI single to put North Georgia up 5-2. <br>
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The Vikings cut the lead to 5-3 in the sixth inning, when senior Jeremy Hannah singled home junior Nick Sun, but North Georgia junior Cory Blackmon and senior Jason Elkins combined to pitch four shutout innings in relief to seal the win for the Saints. <br>
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Handley earned the win after pitching five innings and allowing just two earned runs on six hits while striking out four and walking just one. <br>
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Mosteller suffered the loss after allowing four runs on three hits with five walks and four strikeouts in just four innings. Hannah finished the game going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base, while Gernatt was 2-for-4 with an RBI. <br>
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North Georgia improved to 6-7 on the year, while Berry drops to 1-2. The Saints will host Trevecca Nazarene University on Friday in Dahlonega, while Berry will travel to Southern Tech in Marietta on Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m.
