Baseball’s win streak at five

No. 21 Bobcats sweep Montevallo, squeak past Valdosta State on Anderson’s single

Georgia College’s Ikaika Anderson stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, looking to put the ball in play with two on and two outs in a tied game.

The junior designated hitter did just that, sending a bouncing ball through the hole on the left side, which glanced off the glove of the third baseman and into left centerfield, scoring senior catcher Richard Pirkle and giving the Bobcats a 6-5 win over Valdosta State on April 19 at John Kurtz Field. The victory made it a five in a row for the No. 21 Bobcats (29-14, 12-9 PBC) after they had been in a recent slump, including four straight losses.

“It was a little nerve-wracking, but I wasn’t trying to do too much but get a base hit,” Anderson said. “Fortunately I was able to come through and give us the win.”

 

Georgia College won in their last at bat for the second time in three games. After jumping out to an early 4-0 lead, they were not able to halt a pesky Blazer squad, which scored four times in the final two frames to knot the score at 5-5.

The Bobcats got all of their early runs in the bottom of the second. With one out, Anderson was hit by a pitch and then advanced to third on a double by sophomore first baseman Cody Maas.

Freshman second baseman Matt Robinson kept things going for the bottom third of the Bobcats order with a single, scoring Anderson to make it a 1-0 Georgia College lead.

Junior left fielder Josh Young followed with a single into leftfield, scoring Maas to make it 2-0. The Bobcats kept the pressure on Valdosta State, as Young stole second, and on the throwdown from the Blazers catcher, Robinson swiped home to make it a 3-0 score. Later in the inning, junior shortstop Tanner Funk reached on a fielding error to give the Bobcats a 4-0 advantage.

“We’re starting to get it back rolling and get the swagger going.”

Ikaika Anderson, junior designated hitter

Up 4-1 in the seventh, Georgia College added an all-important insurance run when Funk singled with one out, advanced to second on a passed ball, and then scored on a base hit by redshirt junior third baseman Travis Echols to make it 5-1.

But the Blazers wouldn’t go away, as they cut the lead to 5-2 in the eighth inning and then scored three runs in the ninth, all charged to redshirt sophomore lefty Mike Guinane, who started the game for the Bobcats. Redshirt senior righty Tanner Moore got out of the jam for the Bobcats and kept the game tied going into the bottom half of the ninth.

With one out in the inning, Pirkle worked the count, fouling off a couple of pitches, to draw a walk. He later advanced to second on a passed ball, and after an intentional walk to Echols, Anderson came through with his second hit of the day to win the game.

“It certainly wasn’t the way we wanted to draw things up in the ninth, but we were able to hold on and win the game,” Head Coach Tom Carty said. “It’s much better to win than lose, and we were able to beat those guys twice this year.”

Last weekend at home, the Bobcats got a crucial Peach Belt Conference sweep over Montevallo.

Georgia College swept both games of a twin bill on April 16 against the Falcons, winning the first game 15-9 and rallying for a last inning 8-7 victory in the second game. In the first game, the Bobcats were benefited by two five-run innings in the fifth and seventh to erase an early deficit. Funk and junior centerfielder Patrick Daugherty each had three hits to lead the team. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Hart picked up the win on the mound, as the righthander allowed just two runs in 4.1 innings of relief work.

The Bobcats trailed the second game 7-4 entering the bottom of the ninth. Robinson, who has had much success in his first year with the team, led off with a single and advanced after Daugherty was hit by a pitch. Young followed with a single, and Ward had a double to cut the lead down to 7-6.

Later in the inning, Funk hit a line drive off the shortstop’s glove to tie the game. Echols then followed with a chopper to first, but the throw home was too late to get Ward as Georgia College came away with the victory.

Georgia College returns to action April 22 and 23 at home against Erskine. Their April 21 matchup at Erskine had not been played at press time.

With their recent winning streak, the Bobcats have gained some of the confidence that they had early in the season back. But they know that there is plenty of room for improvement.

“We’re starting to get it back rolling and get the swagger going,” Anderson said. “We’ve got to do a better job of playing team baseball and taking better approaches at the plate.”

“There’s no doubt that losing hurts and winning helps team confidence,” Carty said. “The Peach Belt season is a grind, and things aren’t going to come easy. We have new guys on offense this season, and our pitchers have to get better at closing out games in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.”