Hurricanes pound Young Harris in series finale
Published 11:03 pm Monday, April 2, 2018
AMERICUS – Having been embarrassed on Friday, losing 20-1 and then 7-3 in a doubleheader with Young Harris College, the GSW Baseball Team (6-24, 2-16 PBC) exacted revenge by pounding the Mountain Lions 12-3 on Saturday, March 31, at Hurricane Stadium.
“I’m just really proud of the way the guys came out and played today,” GSW head coach Bryan McLain said. “We had a really tough one the first game on Friday. We battled back and lost in disappointing fashion in the end on the second game. This team just keeps coming back and playing…expecting today to be a good day and today was. I was really proud of the way that we did everything. WE played all phases of the game. On offense, we swung the bat, scored runs. Kyle (Spinks) pitched well and we played great defense, so it’s just a tremendous day for us.”
GSW starter Kyle Spinks (1-4) went the whole way for the Hurricanes. He gave up three runs on nine hits. He walked three and struck out seven to get the well-deserved win. “Early in the game I was struggling a little bit,” Spinks said. “Then I found my fastball and I found my two-seam fastball later on in the game. I stuck with that pretty much the rest of the game.”
Jason Baita went 2-for-5 at the plate and scored two runs to help lead GSW to the 12-3 victory.
Phot by Ken Gustafson
Jared Jones, Josh Logan and Jonathan Martin led the offensive attack for the Hurricanes. Jones went 4-for-5 at the plate. He scored three runs and drove in an RBI. Both Logan and Martin went 3-for-5 at the plate. Logan scored a run and drove in three RBIs, while Martin drove in two runs. Jason Baita was also productive. He went 2-for-5 and scored two runs.
“I think that the guys swung it well today. We got great starting pitching from Kyle (Spinks),” Logan said. “It feels good to get a win.”
Young Harris got on the board first in the top of the second. With one out, Tristin Smith drew a walk. Tyler Washington singled, then Corley Reynolds hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Smith. The Mountain Lions added a second run in the top of the third. Skylor Murphy led off with a single, followed by a double from Jackson Jones, driving home Murphy. The Hurricanes responded in their half of the third. With one out, Jared Jones singled, then Andy Moore drew a walk. Then Jonathan Martin got an RBI double, driving in Jones. Danny Molinari would hit into a fielder’s choice, but that scored Andy Moore to tie the game at 2-2.
GSW shortstop Tyler Skelton about to make a play. Skelton was 1-for-5 at the plate with an RBI.
Photo by Ken Gustafson
Both teams scored a run in the fourth, keeping the game tied at 3-3. In the bottom of the fifth, Georgia Southwestern State would take the lead for good. Jones led off the inning with a single, followed by an Andy Moore walk. Then Jonathan Martin singled to load the bases. Molinari drove in his second RBI of the game, giving the Hurricanes a 4-3 lead and a lead they would not relinquish.
Jared Jones went 4-for-5 at the plate. He scored three runs and drove in an RBI for the Hurricanes.
Photo by Ken Gustafson
The Canes blew it open in the bottom of the sixth inning. They scored 8 runs on seven hits in that inning to put the game away. The Canes scored 12 runs on 18 hits and didn’t commit an error. Young Harris scored three runs on nine hits and committed one error.
The Hurricanes will try to build on this impressive win when they travel to Albany to take on Albany State on Wednesday, April 4. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
