Bobcats can’t hold late lead

Georgia College struggles, drops to No. 9 in nation after losing road series at Ga. Sw.

The No. 9 Georgia College baseball team, third in the Peach Belt Conference and 24-10 overall, progressed their season with a three-game series April 2 to 3 at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, Ga.

The Hurricanes took the series two games to one, but the Bobcats did not bow down with ease.

Drake Simons | gcsunade.com

Redshirt senior pitcher Ryan Parson tags out a runner in a game against West Georgia on Feb. 13. The Bobcats have been in a slump lately, falling as low as No. 9 in the national rankings.

Sophomore lefty Mike Guinane played his role, going eight innings while only giving up two runs on six hits and fanning three.

Up until the seventh, the Bobcats sticks had them in the game. The Bobcats’ home run king, senior catcher Richard Pirkle went 3-3 with two bombs.

“Anyway I can help my team out,” Pirkle said.

Not helping the Bobcats was starting GSW pitcher Trent Franzago who sat down 10 Bobcats on strikeouts and only allowed three runs.

To Georgia College’s own demise was the ninth inning. Guinane was pulled and replaced by senior closer Tanner Moore.

After a bobbled ball in right field and a couple Southwestern hits, a strike three curve ball in the dirt got away from Pirkle, plating the winning run for the Hurricanes in game one.

“It’s definitely going to happen every once in a while… hopefully this is the last time,” Guinane said.

Looking to focus towardsthe end of the game, the Bobcats rallied for a three-run seventh inning, but were unable to overcome the seven runs from the Hurricanes.

Sophomore first baseman Cody Maas had a big seventh inning punishing a Southwestern pitch for a two-run homer, while senior right fielder Shawn Ward went 2-4 for the game.

Senior righthander Eric Pettepher took the loss, giving up three earned runs of his seven, but also striking out six.

“It’s definitely going to happen every once in a while (blowing the lead)…

hopefully this is the last time.”

Mike Guinane,

Sophomore pitcher

Southwestern’s Jody Sellars grabbed the win in seven innings of pitching, allowing only one earned run and five hits to the Bobcats.

The Bobcats pitching never really showed up, and the bases housed a lot of forgotten runners.

“That’s got to change come World Series time,” Guinane said.

The one and two spots for the Bobcats impressed in game three of the weekend, combining for four hits and three RBI.

Leading off, junior leftfielder Josh Young offered two hits and a run.

Following Young, junior shortstop Tanner Funk had two hits and three RBI from the three spot in the order; senior rightfielder Shawn Ward gave three hits and a run in the Bobcats 9-4 victory.

The Bobcats’ offense was not confined to the one through three holes, as Maas blasted his second bomb of the day and junior third baseman Travis Echols followed suit with a shot of his own.

Every spot in the Georgia College lineup got a hit in game three.

Defensively sophomore reliever Taylor Hart earned his first Division II career win, pitching the final three innings, not allowing a run on three hits.

The Bobcats returned home on April 6 for a slugfest against Newberry College.

The Bobcats put up three in the first for an early lead, but the Wolves followed with three of their own, brutalizing the left infield gap.

Pirkle added another home run on his list in the bottom of the third, and Echols made it back-to-back blasting another one.

The Bobcats offense tacked on a 13-5 lead in the sixth, but lousy pitching and failure to capitalize at the plate let the Wolves claw back in to score three runs in the last three innings, taking the game in the ninth.

Georgia College looks to get back to their natural realm of winning Saturday at UNC Pembroke for another PBC matchup.

The Bobcats, who advanced to Div. II College World Series last season, started off the season hot with a 14-2 mark, including an 11-game winning streak, allowing them to rise to No. 1 in the nation.

But as of late, they have struggled, going just 10-9 in their last 19 games. In the process, they have dipped down to as low as No. 9 in  the rankings.

Posted by Taylor Lamb on Apr 7 2011. Filed under Lead stories, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.