South Georgia State College (SGSC) Hawks finished off a four-game sweep of the West Georgia Technical College (WGTC) Knights on Saturday, leading them to an 8-game winning streak. These wins made their record 18-8 in regular season and 4-0 in conference play.
The series began at home for the Hawks as they defeated the Knights with a score of 6-3. WGTC was in the lead by one run until the bottom of the third when SGSC scored three, driven by singles from Colby Owens and KC Brown. The Knights answered with two runs in the sixth to tie the score. The Hawks battled back in the bottom of the seventh when Owens singled on the first pitch thrown, scoring one run. Two runs in the bottom of the eighth led to the win for the Hawks. Jacob Giles led SGSC with three hits in four at bats. Owens and Jake Bryan earned two hits while Tyler Solomon and Justin Brooks each added one.
Caleb Moss started the game on the mound for the Hawks. He surrendered one run on five hits over four and a third innings, striking out four. Ian Smith was credited with the win. He surrendered zero runs on three hits over two and two-thirds innings, striking out three and walking one. Austin Knowles and Hassan Westbrook entered the game out of the bullpen and helped close out the game in relief. Westbrook recorded the last three outs to earn a save for the Hawks.
The Hawks traveled to Carrollton on Thursday and sailed to an easy 12-1 victory over WGTC. With the Hawks scoring in every inning but the fourth, there was little danger of the Knights rallying back as they only scored one run in the bottom of the seventh. Justin Brooks led SGSC with three hits, followed by Cole Escher and Tyler Solomon with two hits each. Colby Owens, Jake Bryan and Mikell Collins each added one hit. Mark Mixon took the win on the mound for the Hawks. He lasted seven innings, allowing eight hits and one run while striking out twelve and walking none.
With two wins behind them, SGSC traveled back home for a double-header against WGTC. In the first game on Saturday, the Hawks defeated the Knights by a score of 8-4. SGSC fired up their offense in the first two innings. Tyler Solomon started the game with a single on a 0-1 count, scoring one run. In the second inning, the Hawks scored seven runs. The Knights made an attempt at a comeback with no success. SGSC’s Cole Escher led with 3 hits out of 4 times at bat. Colby Owens added two hits with Solomon, Jake Bryan, KC Brown, Mikell Collins and Blake Brito each contributing one hit.
Zach Mainor got the win for the Hawks. He lasted six innings, allowing four hits and one run while striking out three. Josh Mejia and Seth Shadix entered the game out of the bullpen and helped close out the game.
The Hawks continued their winning ways in game two of the double-header with a 4-1 victory. The Hawks got things moving in the first inning when Tyler Solomon drove in a run on a single. SGSC’s offense put up three runs in the third inning on a single by Solomon and a home run by Jake Bryan. Solomon went 3-3 at the plate to lead the Hawks in hits. SGSC tore up the base paths, as two players stole bases. Cole Escher led with four stolen bases, followed by Solomon with two. Cole Escher and Jacob Giles each added one hit.
Nathan Henderson was the winning pitcher for the Hawks. He surrendered one run on five hits over six innings, striking out five and walking one. Hassan Westbrook threw one inning out of the bullpen, recording the last three outs to earn the save.