The South Georgia State College Hawks came up on the short end of three weekend games against the Andrew College Tigers that featured 75 total runs and 83 hits. The Tigers won two of the three, all of which were played in Cuthbert.
Andrew won Thursday’s game 14-6 after jumping out to a 10-2 lead after three innings. The Hawks scored their runs in the second (two) and fourth (four). The Tigers, meanwhile, plated runs in the first, second, third, sixth, and seventh innings.
Payton Bryant led the way for SGSC offensively, going 3-4 with a double and two runs scored. Danny Vigille-Grant had two hits, two RBI, a walk and a run scored.
Starter Jared Web, one of five SGSC pitchers on the day, took the loss. He went 1 1/3 innings and gave up nine earned runs on six hits. He struck out one and walked four.
In Saturday’s doubleheader, the Hawks bounced back in game one, winning 19-14 in extra innings. SGSC scored in the first, second, fourth, fifth, seventh, and fifth – and they needed every run they could get. Andrew did its scoring over four consecutive innings – the second through the fifth.
The game was tied at 14 after seven innings. The teams played two extra frames, with the Hawks scoring five in the top of the ninth to pull ahead for good. Brice Marchman and Trae Jones hit back-to-back solo home runs to take a 16-14 lead. Diego Gonzales singled with one out then Gavin Hamrick doubled. Gonzales scored on an error to go up 17-14. Braxton Brady and Vigille-Grant followed with RBI singles to give SGSC an insurmountable 19-14 advantage.
Tanner Langley, Jesse Brown, Marchman, and Vigille-Grant had three hits. Gonzales, Bryant, and Marchman drove in three. Marchman scored four runs while Langley scored three.
The Hawks went through three more pitchers with Hayden Gmerek, the third of SGSC’s pitchers to take the mound, got the win. He threw the final six innings, striking out four and walking two.
The Tigers got their revenge in the nightcap, scoring in bunches over the first four innings while hold the Hawks to just five runs.
Travis Stroud III hit a three-run home run in the sixth. Brady added a double. Eight SGSC pitchers saw action; no one threw more than 1 2/3 innings. Starter Blake Hughes, who lasted 1/3 of an inning, was credited with the loss. He faced seven batters and threw 29 pitches.
Despite the late-week setbacks against Andrew, SGSC finished the week 2-2 and now sits alone in second place in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association standings, holding a one game lead over Gordon State. The Hawks are 26-20 overall and 8-10 in conference play.
SGSC’s next five games are all against Gordon State. The Hawks travel to Barnesville Tuesday, April 14 then play four straight games at home against the Highlanders – April 16 (3 p.m.), April 18 (doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.), and April 23 (3 p.m.).
