Wildcats Stop Tigers' Hot Bats

MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Georgetown College baseball team (8-21, 1-8 MSC) played a Mid-South Conference road series at Bethel University (10-16, 4-2 MSC) on Saturday and Sunday at Wildcat Park.

On Saturday, Bethel won the first game 6-5, and the Wildcats claimed the second game 9-7. On Sunday, the Wildcats closed the series with a 13-3 win over the Tigers.

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME ONE      
With one away in the top of the first, the Tigers got their three-run inning started with an Elijah Verge triple. Verge later scored off a balk in the inning, and Julien Mendoza gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead by drawing a bases-loaded walk. After a hitless first two innings from the Wildcats, Bethel tacked on two runs in the bottom of the third. A balk plated the first run before a sacrifice fly to center brought in the other. Oakland Flodell responded with an RBI single in the fourth, though to make it 4-2, Georgetown. Just one hit marked the fifth, and the sixth saw another Tiger run; this time, Nathan Odaira touched home off an error by the catcher. Bethel walked it off in the seventh, with a four-run frame. Two doubles, an error, and a walk-off single gave game one to the Wildcas, 6-5.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – GAME ONE      
* Henry Cruz went 2-4 with a run scored.
* Nathan Odaira was 2-3 with two runs scored.
* Oakland Flodell went 1-2 with an RBI and a walk.
* Ashton Deskins (3-2) took the loss, going 0.2 innings. He surrendered three runs and gave up three hits with one strikeout.

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME TWO     
Georgetown once again put up a three-run inning to start the scoring, this time in the second inning. A walk followed by a sacrifice fly and an RBI single all brought in runs before the Wildcats rattled off a six-run home half of the second. Another sac fly in the third made it a 6-4 game in favor of Bethel, who used an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to stretch its lead. Despite another three-run frame and another sacrifice fly tying the game in the top of the seventh, Bethel took game two by scoring a run in each of the seventh and eighth frames. An RBI single and a bases-loaded walk put things out of reach for Georgetown.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – GAME TWO      
* Davis Johnson was 2-5 with an RBI.
* Elijah Verge went 3-2 with two runs scored.
* Julien Mendoza was 2-5 with a run scored.
* Zach Mariani (0-2) took the loss, tossing 4.0 innings, allowing two runs off eight hits while striking out three.

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME THREE     
Bethel scored in every inning but the second in this one as the hosts took a 1-0 lead after the first behind a solo home run. An RBI single in the second tied things at a run apiece before Zander Smith's two-run shot in the top of the third made it 3-1 Georgetown. From there, it was all Wildcats, though as a three-run frame in both the third and fourth pushed things to a 7-3 game. Bethel added one run in the fifth, three more in the sixth and closed the scoring with a two-run seventh inning.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – GAME THREE      
* Nathan Odaira was 2-2.
* Zander Smith went 1-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
* Diondre Jacob was 1-3 with a walk and a run scored.
* Nathan Beaven (0-4) took the loss, tossing 3.0 innings, allowing four runs off six hits while striking out one.

UP NEXT   
The Tigers end March with a series at Pikeville (17-12, 9-9 AAC) on Tuesday, March 31.

First pitch with the Bears is set for 12:00 p.m. at Johnnie Lemaster Field.