MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – Georgia College swept a Peach Belt Conference baseball doubleheader from Young Harris College Monday (April 21) afternoon at John Kurtz Field.
Georgia College took the opener 10-6 before the Bobcats won game two 10-4.
The No. 23 Bobcats improved to 29-12 overall and to 16-8 in the league while the Mountain Lions fell to 24-23 and 12-15. Young Harris wraps up its season with a three-game PBC series against Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C., next week. The Mountain Lions will open the series against the Patriots at 6 p.m. May 1.
Young Harris took a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the top of the first in game one. Georgia College tied the game at 1 on Clay Ardeeser's sacrifice fly in its half of the inning. The Bobcats added a two-run single by Taylor Hinshaw later in the inning.
The Mountain Lions pushed across a run in the top of the second on a David Atwood RBI single to right field, but Georgia College added a two-run single by Daniel Bick in the bottom half of the inning to open a 5-2 lead.
Young Harris added a RBI ground out by Tom Valichka in the third before the Bobcats opened up the game with a three-run fourth inning to take an 8-3 lead. Hinshaw was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Steve Hazel drove in two runs with a single to center.
The Bobcats added two runs in the seventh before Young Harris scored two runs on an Adam Moore single to left in the eighth inning and another run on a Zach Odom double an inning later.
Atwood, Dom Wyshinski and Odom each had two hits for Young Harris while Josh Rudnik (6-1) took the loss.
Georgia College connected on three home runs – two by Ardeeser and one by Hazel – in the nightcap.
Ardeeser's first homer – a three-run shot to center – gave the Bobcats a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Young Harris got a run back in the fourth on Trey Rogers' RBI single, but Georgia College single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 5-1 lead.
The Mountain Lions scored three runs in the sixth inning to close within a run at 5-4. Valichka had an RBI single to center and Rudnik doubled through the right side to account for the other two runs.
Hazel added a two-run homer in the seventh and Ardeeser added a solo shot for the Bobcats.
Rogers had two of the five hits for the Mountain Lions. Oliver Pratt (1-1) took the loss for Young Harris.
