Salisbury, NC| The Young Harris College baseball team played in two DII Southeast Regional Championship games on Thursday (May 16) evening hosted by Catawba College. In game one, the Mountain Lions battled the UNC Pembroke Braves, and fell just short after their ninth inning comeback efforts. Immediately after, YHC had their backs pushed against the wall, as they had to take on the #1 seed, Catawba College. With everything in the Indians favor, as the host team of the entire championship, the Mountain Lions charged into enemy territory and took down Catawba College in a convincing 5-3 win.

With the victory, the Mountain Lions captured their 40th win, a first in program history.

QUOTING HEAD COACH STEPHEN WAGGENER:
"Our guys played really hard today and couldn't be more proud of their resilience! Both games could have went either way."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

Game One Vs UNC Pembroke (8-7 Loss) 

• YHC got the scoring underway, taking an early 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning off a two-run single by Steven Spell and a bases-loaded walk to Jack Enrico. 

• By the end of the 4th inning, the Braves had taken control, with home runs from Kody O'Connor and Joey Rezek starting the scoring run for UNC Pembroke; Rezek would also knock in a run from an RBI double to take a 4-3 lead. 

• James Basham tied the game at four in the 5th inning with an RBI single. 

• In the 6th inning, the Braves once again took the lead, this time with a four-run inning that featured another RBI double for Rezek, and O'Connor's second HR of the game, this time a two-run blast to put UNC Pembroke ahead 8-4. 

• In the top of the ninth, the Mountain Lions battled and scored three runs to get within one, from an RBI double by Basham, a bases-loaded walk by Jeremy Begora, and an HBP on Jack Enrico with the bases loaded. 

• With the bases loaded and two outs, Chase Jernigan got Ethan Stamps to strike out to end the game, with the Braves winning the contest by just one run. 

Game Two Vs Catawba College (5-3 Win) 

• Zach Hart got the start for the Mountain Lions and gave YHC seven strong innings; giving up just three runs in an efficient start. 

• Kade Smallwood got the Mountain Lions on the board in the first inning, with a bases clearing double to put YHC ahead 3-0. 

• Catawba added a run in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI single by Bo Rusher. 

• Smallwood picked up his fourth RBI of the game in the fourth inning, with a solo moon shot into right field that put the Mountain Lions ahead 4-1. 

• Logan Rogers hit a two-run HR in the bottom of the fourth, to get the Indians within one run of the Mountain Lions. 

• In the seventh, Jeremy Begora knocked in an insurance run on an RBI single to put YHC ahead 5-3, the eventual winning run. 

• Dylan Beck came in to slam the door on the Indians, throwing the final two innings of the game to earn the save. Beck struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to seal the deal for YHC and keep their 2024 season alive. 

ON DECK:

Young Harris avoids elimination with their convincing win over top seeded Catawba College and will play UNC Pembroke again on Saturday (May 18) afternoon in Salisbury, North Carolina. 

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