Skyhawks Clipped by ABAC 5-2 and 9-7 in Doubleheader

TIFTON, Ga. – The Point University Skyhawks showed flashes of excellence on Saturday afternoon, but the scattered runs from the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Stallions left a bigger impact as they swept the Skyhawks 5-2 and 9-7 at ABAC Stallion Field.

Game One:

ABAC did almost the entirety of their damage at the start of the game, driving home four runners in the first. The Stallions used an RBI single from Dylan Davis (not to be confused with the Skyhawks pitcher of the same name) and a two-run double by Kam Taylor to build the padding that held up the rest of the way.

That opening inning put Point in an immediate deficit, and Abraham Baldwin starter Kade Haywood controlled the game from there. Haywood went the distance in a complete-game effort, allowing six hits and two earned runs across seven innings while striking out three. Point finished with six hits, one walk and one hit batter.

The Skyhawks showed grit in the third. Garrison Coleman delivered an RBI single that brought home Will Hoggard and cut the lead to 4-1. Point added another run in the fourth when Josiah Palomino singled to left field to score Brady Bye, trimming the deficit to 4-2 and giving the Skyhawks a chance to push the game back into reach.

Point starter Daniel Crabtree settled in after the difficult first inning and kept the Skyhawks within striking distance for much of the afternoon. Crabtree worked 5.2 innings, allowing 10 hits and five runs, with only two of those runs earned, while recording six strikeouts. His effort helped stabilize the middle innings after Abraham Baldwin's fast start.

Bailey Stroud led Point at the plate with two hits in four at-bats. The Skyhawks left five runners on base and did not record an extra-base hit, while Abraham Baldwin used four doubles among its 10 hits. Taylor finished 2 for 3 with two doubles and two RBIs, Davis added two hits and an RBI, and the home side consistently applied pressure with traffic on the bases.

Abraham Baldwin added its final run in the bottom of the sixth, when pinch-hitter Joe Cooney doubled to center field to score Taylor and extend the lead to 5-2. That insurance run closed the door on Point's comeback bid and sent the Skyhawks into the second game of the doubleheader looking to respond.

Game Two:

Eager to avenge the game one loss, The Skyhawks started quickly. Brady Bye put Point ahead 2-0 in the first inning with a two-run single up the middle, giving the visitors immediate control. Abraham Baldwin chipped away with an unearned run in the second, then pulled even in the third when Zack Bowman hit a solo home run to right. Point answered in the fourth with its best offensive inning of the day, scoring three times to build a 5-3 lead. Josiah Palomino drove in a run with a single, Bailey Stroud added an RBI on a fielder's choice, and Arwin Burgos brought home another run on a groundout.

That advantage disappeared at the bottom of the fifth. Abraham Baldwin collected the key hits of the game in that inning, with Taylor's two-RBI single leading the response and flipping the score to 7-5. The hosts kept the pressure on in the sixth, when Drew Rothschild lined a two-run single to extend the margin to 9-5. Abraham Baldwin finished with 14 hits, compared with 10 for Point, and consistently found answers after the Skyhawks built early leads.

Point still made a run over the final three innings. Oscar Soto singled in a run in the seventh to trim the deficit to 9-6, and Stroud later scored on a wild pitch in the eighth to bring the Skyhawks within 9-7. That gave Point a late chance after trailing by four, but Abraham Baldwin held the line in the ninth to close out the win.

Bye led Point's lineup with two hits and two RBIs, while Stroud scored twice, drove in one run and stole a base. The Skyhawks totaled eight runners left on base and drew two walks. On the other side, Dylan Davis paced Abraham Baldwin with a 5-for-5 day, scoring three times and adding a double. Taylor finished with three hits, four RBIs and two runs, and Rothschild added two hits and four RBIs in a productive middle of the order.

Point's pitching staff recorded 10 strikeouts over eight innings, but Abraham Baldwin's offense did most of its damage in the fifth and sixth and made the difference in a game that stayed within reach to the end. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first and a 5-3 lead in the fourth, the Skyhawks were still within two when Stroud crossed on the wild pitch in the eighth, but the comeback stopped there.

The Skyhawks begin the upcoming week with a 4:00pm EDT Tuesday matchup against Faulkner University at West Point Park.