Skyhawks Split a Pair in Lawrenceville
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - The Point University baseball team split two contests on Saturday, defeating Crowley's Ridge 12-4 in the morning and falling to host Georgia Gwinnett 4-0 in the evening. The Skyhawks' record moved to 7-5 on the season. They finished the weekend 2-2 with two wins over Crowley's Ridge and two losses to Georgia Gwinnett.
Point returns home for a four-game set against Talladega next week, beginning with a double header on Feb. 19. Game one is set for 3 p.m. and game two is scheduled for 6 p.m. followed by another twin bill on Feb. 21.
Point 12, Crowley's Ridge 4; 7 Innings
After a 12-3 Skyhawks win in yesterday's matchup, the Pioneers jumped ahead early today with four runs in the top of the first inning. Point quickly responded. Bailey Stroud led off with a single and promptly stole second. Garrison Coleman followed with a single through the left side which allowed Stroud to score, but Coleman did not get the RBI because the official scorer deemed that Stroud would have remained at third were it not for an error by the Pioneers.
Coleman then stole second himself and crossed the plate on a single by Arwin Burgos. Point scored two runs before Crowley's Ridge recorded an out and the Skyhawks closed the gap to 4-2. They made it 4-3 in the third. Burgos tripled with one out and was driven in by a Brady Bye sacrifice fly.
Point broke through in the fourth. Two of the first three batters were retired with a Jonathan Kohlman walk sandwiched in between. He then stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 4-4. Coleman walked then moved to third on an errant pickoff attempt and Burgos followed with a free pass and stole second. That set up Bye who drilled a double that scored two and gave Point its first lead at 6-4. The next batter, Damian Hernandez, also doubled, allowing Bye to score. Hernandez crossed the plate on a single by Oscar Soto.
The Skyhawks took an 8-4 lead into the fifth and added on. They notched four more runs in the frame on three RBI singles by Stroud, Burgos and Bye and a sacrifice fly by Hernandez. That gave Point a 12-4 lead, which it held through the final two innings.
Vittorio Iacobucci earned his second win of the season for the Skyhawks, pitching five innings, the final four of which were scoreless, and striking out three. Bye led the way offensively with two hits and four RBI while Burgos and Hernandez each drove in two.
Georgia Gwinnett 4, Point 0; 9 Innings
Burgos got the Skyhawks' first hit of their second game of the day with two outs in the first, but was stranded. Daniel Crabtree got the start on the mound for the Skyhawks and pitched very well. He pitched a perfect first inning, recording a strikeout and two groundouts. Crabtree allowed a single and a stolen base in the second, but worked around them.
The Grizzlies used two singles and a sacrifice fly in the third inning to claim a 1-0 lead. A pair of doubles in the fifth boosted that advantage to 2-0. Bye picked up a two-out single for Point in the sixth, but the Skyhawks could not get him in.
Point's biggest threat came in the top of the eighth. Stroud reached on an error and Soto walked, putting men on first and second with one out. However, GGC worked out of the threat and carried its 2-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth.
Crabtree went back out for the eighth inning and allowed two singles and a walk to start the frame. He was tagged with two more earned runs allowed as a result and his final line read seven-plus innings, four runs and seven hits allowed and a career-high 12 strikeouts.
The Grizzlies took a 4-0 lead into the ninth inning. Hernandez walked to start the frame for Point, but the Skyhawks failed to score and ultimately fell 4-0.