The first day of spring had not yet arrived last week, but the South Georgia State College Hawks had spring baseball fever. In a four-game series against the East Georgia Bobcats March 15-17, SGSC won three of the games.
The game on March 15 proved to be a tough pitching day for both teams as a total of twenty runs were scored in an 11-9 win for the Hawks. The teams totaled 26 hits, including nine extra base hits.
SGSC and East Georgia traded runs for most of the contest, leading to seven lead changes in the game. With the score tied at the end of the eighth inning, SGSC would wait until the top of the tenth to grab the lead by adding two runs. Stephan Cruver, Mikal Flores and Cameron Coffey combined for eight hits and three RBIs. Trey Hollinger got the win for the Hawks. He allowed one run over 2 2/3 innings, struck out one, walked none, and gave up two hits.
In the March 16 doubleheader, the Hawks split the games with a 5-1 win in game one and a loss of 7-5 in game two. In the first game, SGSC relied on Cayden Hatcher to set the pace for the game. He allowed one earned run, four hits and no walks while striking out five over his seven innings of work. On the offensive side, Coffey started the game off with a RBI single. After a run in the third, the Hawks added three more in the bottom of the fifth with Flores hitting a single, bringing home Chandler Rogers and Cruver, which was followed by Christian Harkey’s single, scoring Flores.
The second game included a slow start for SGSC with the Hawks not scoring until the fifth inning. East Georgia kicked it into gear scoring one run in each of the second through fourth innings. The fifth inning was strong for both teams, seeing four runs cross the plate for each team. Flores started the rally by hitting a three-run home run, but it wasn’t enough to close the deficit. Luke Sims looked sharp on the mound by allowing no earned runs, walking none and striking out two during his 2 1/3 innings of work. Caleb Hill took the loss for the Hawks. He lasted four innings, walked one, struck out four and allowed three runs.
The series closed out with a late day game on March 17, and the Hawks defeated the Bobcats 9-2. East Georgia’s lineup had no answer for SGSC’s Chip Devitt. The Bobcats managed just three hits off of Devitt, who allowed no earned runs, walked two and struck out four during his 5 2/3 innings of work. Cruver racked up three RBIs on four hits for the Hawks. Flores followed closely with three hits while Rogers, Coffey, Harkey, Kevin Acevedo, and Jared Crews all contributed with one hit each. The Hawks outhit the Bobcats 12-5.
For more information, including a complete schedule, team roster, photos, and scores visit www.sgsc.edu/athletics.
– Submitted by Amy Hancock, SGSC External Affairs Coordinator