MADISONVILLE, Tenn. – Young Harris College swept a baseball doubleheader from Hiwassee College Saturday (March 31) afternoon at Tom Black Field as the Mountain Lions threw back-to-back shutouts.
Taylor Topping (3-1) and two relievers allowed two hits as Young Harris won the opener 11-0 before Justin Cooper (1-0) threw a four-hit, complete-game effort in the nightcap as the Mountain Lions took a 7-0 victory.
Young Harris improved to 25-9 with the sweep. The Mountain Lions and the Tigers wrap up their three-game series with a 2 p.m. contest Sunday (April 1).
The first four hitters – Sam Tarlton, Zach Bricknell, David Atwood and Jack Morrow – for Young Harris drove in eight of the runs for the Mountain Lions in the opener. The foursome accounted for eight of the 12 hits by Young Harris, including four doubles. Bricknell went 4-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI while Tarlton, who was making his first start at the top of the lineup, went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI.
Morrow drove in two runs in the first inning on his double down the left field line and Bricknell added a RBI single in the second. Tarlton stroked a two-run double to right-center field in the third and Bricknell followed with a run-scoring double to give the Mountain Lions a 6-0 lead.
Atwood added a RBI ground out in the fifth before Young Harris added four runs an inning later. Tom Valichka and Tyler Spradlin had run-scoring doubles before Bricknell drove in the final run on a sacrifice fly.
Topping struck out six and allowed two hits in five innings.
David Rogers gave the Mountain Lions a 1-0 lead in the second inning as he drew a bases-loaded walk and Bricknell added another run on his bunt single in the third.
Atwood doubled home a run in the fourth and later scored on a wild pitch to give Young Harris a 4-0 advantage. The Mountain Lions scored their final three runs in the sixth. Rogers singled through the left side for the first run and Adam Moore added a two-run homer – his sixth of the season – to left.
Cooper struck out five in the win.
