SW Georgia News

Savannah State baseball won two big games out of a three-game series with the reigning Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Champions, Spring Hill, this weekend.
 
The Tigers improved to 7-2 on the season with the wins and 5-1 in SIAC action.
 
The weekend started off in the wrong direction for Savannah State. In game one of Saturday's doubleheader, Spring Hill racked up 14 hits en-route to a 12-5 win. Joe Smith led the Tigers from the plate in the loss going 3-for-5 with two triples.
 
Andrew Mann suffered his first loss of the season after 5.2 innings on the mound. He gave up four earned runs on 10 hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
 
But Savannah State rallied in game two and it started on the mound. Jared Showalter pitched an absolute dime against Spring Hill. Showalter went a full 7.0 innings allowing only one hit and no runs, two walks, and five strikeouts to lead the Tigers to a 3-0 victory.
 
In the defensive battle, all three runs of the game were scored in the bottom of the third inning.
 
Jason Miller and Jacob Rushin each walked to reach and stole bases to get into scoring position. Miller stole home on a throwing error for the first run. Omar Almodovar bunted into a groundout to push Rushin into scoring position. Joe Smith brought him home on a sac-fly to second.
 
Newcomer Jake Grubesic blasted a bomb to left field, scoring the third and final run of the game with his first home run of the season. Savannah State carried the momentum over from game two into the final game of the series on Sunday.
 
Trailing 1-2 into the fourth inning, Savannah State took advantage of some slips from starter Evan Lagnston. Hakem Smith was walked and then Jaden Oden walked. Luka Torralva singled to center and got to second, scoring Hakem Smith.
 
With two outs, Almodovar walked and then Joe Smith blasted a triple to left filed scoring Almodovar, Torralva, and Oden. That would spell the end of Langston's time on the mound.
 
The Tigers plated six runs in the inning on two hits for a 7-2 lead into the final three innings.
 
Late in the eighth, Spring Hill started to hit Savannah State's relief pitchers, plating three runs on four hits. But transfer Merritt Evans II, pitching in relief, was able to stop the bleeding.
 
Savannah State scored one more run in the bottom of the frame. Joe Smith hit his fourth triple of the weekend and scored on a throwing error to lift SSU to a 9-7 lead. Evans would shut Spring Hill down in the ninth to lead the Tigers to a 9-7 victory.
 
Starting pitcher Enrico Peele earned his third win of the season, going 4.1 innings. He allowed no earned runs on two hits with four walks and two strikeouts. Evans earned his first save as a Tiger after 2.0 innings of work. He allowed no earned runs on two hits with one strikeout and no walks.
 
Joe Smith was 2-for-5 in the game with two triples. He slashed .600/.500/.400 going 5-for-12 over the weekend with four runs, five RBI and four triples. 

Original source can be found here.