AMERICUS, Ga. | Georgia Southwestern State University scored six runs in the sixth inning as the Hurricanes rallied for 7-6 win in the Peach Belt Conference baseball series opener over Georgia College & State University Friday (Feb. 20) afternoon at Hurricane Stadium.
The Hurricanes improved to 9-4 overall and 4-0 in the league, while the Bobcats fell to 1-11 and 0-4. The two teams will play the middle game of the three-game series Saturday (Feb. 21) at noon.
GCSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a three-run third inning. The Bobcats took advantage of a Hurricane error to score two unearned runs.
Carson Phillips accounted for the lone RBI in the frame with a sacrifice bunt.
The Bobcats tacked on a run in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead. Brandon Bellflower led off with a double to right-center and moved to third on
Evan Cowan's sacrifice. Bellflower later scored on
Carson Vick's single to center field.
The Hurricanes regained the lead at 6-4 an inning later. Georgia Southwestern tied the game at 4 on a two-run homer to left by Jacob Reeves. Devon Murphy later added a RBI double to left-center field. Edwin Melendez's single through the right side pushed the lead for the Hurricanes to 7-4.
GCSUÂ put together four hits to score twice in the eighth inning to trim the deficit to a run at 7-6.
Ty Petrovich led off with a single to right and moved to third on
Blake Wood's double to left-center field. A
Cole Huddleston infield single loaded the bases for the Bobcats with two outs. Cowan followed with a two-run single through the left side to pull the Bobcats within a run.
Cooper Sain earned his second save of the season by retiring the final four GCSU hitter to preserve the Georgia Southwestern victory. GCSUÂ
Keaton Prior (0-3) took the loss, while Evan Koehler went to 3-0 with nine strikeouts in 7.2 innings for the Hurricanes.
Cowan and Wood led the Bobcat offense with two hits apiece. Eight of the nine position players for GCSU recorded at least one hit. Phillips, Wood and Bellflower each had an extra-base hit for the Bobcats.
About GCSU AthleticsÂ
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for five consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won six consecutive Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and four-time winners of the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in postseason competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports or subscribe to theÂ
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