PALATKA, Fla. I The Young Harris College baseball team scored 31 runs on 30 hits as the Mountain Lions won a pair of pool play games Saturday (May 11) in 2019 Peach Belt Conference Tournament.
Young Harris defeated Georgia Southwestern State University 14-4 in the opening game at Tindall Field on the St. Johns River State College campus, before defeating No. 24-ranked University of North Georgia 17-5 in seven innings in the nightcap. Young Harris tied Georgia Southwestern in the Pool Play A standings with 2-1 records, but the Mountain Lions advance to Sunday's (May 12) 1 p.m. title game by virtue of beating the Hurricanes head-to-head.
Young Harris, who will be making their first-ever trip to the championship game, will face the University of South Carolina-Aiken, which won all three Pool B contests, at Drysdale Field on the Flagler College campus. The winner will earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament that begins next week.
Against Georgia Southwestern,
Tucker Greer and
Zavier Lushington each drove in four runs, while
Tyler Washington and
Brett Hawkins added two RBI apiece as the Mountain Lions jumped out to 7-0 lead through the first four innings and never looked back. Washington led the Mountain Lions with four hits, including three that went for doubles. Lushington and Greer each banged out three hits. Lushington hit a pair of homers - his team-high 11th of the season - while Greer added a three-run homer for his second long ball of the year.
Dylan Gibeau (7-2) scattered six hits and struck out nine in seven innings to earn the win.
Against their Blood Mountain Rivals, Young Harris scored 17 runs over the first four innings.
T.J. Byrd's grand slam to left field highlighted a nine-run fourth inning for the Mountain Lions. It was Byrd's sixth homer of the season. Greer, Byrd and
Cole Jackson each collected three hits in the win, while Washington, Jackson and Brett Gracyzk each drove in two runs. Jackson led the Mountain Lions with two doubles, while Greer had one.
Tucker Daniel (6-0) earned the win with five strikeouts over three innings.
