COLUMBUS, Ga. – Led by homers off the bats of Drew Taylor and Clint Hardy, the Jaguars split the Peach Belt Conference doubleheader against Columbus State, dropping game one 6-3 and taking the second game 7-5 on Saturday afternoon on the road.
The scheduled single game on Friday with the Cougars was lost due to rain, so the doubleheader decided the series Saturday. GRU Augusta (15-24, 8-15 PBC) found life early in game one when Clint Hardy (1-3; RBI) put the Jags on the board first, smacking the first pitch thrown to him over the center field wall for his sixth homerun of the season.
Right-handed junior David Bermudez started his third game of the season for GRU. Bermudez only allowed two hits and one run in 2.2 innings of work, before Frank Warren and Tristan Jones relieved.
In the third inning, Nick Rau (1-3; RBI) came to bat with bases loaded and plated one on a single to shortstop, while a second scored on an error, giving the Jags a 3-0 lead.
With two outs and bases loaded in the third inning, the Jags turned to junior lefty Frank Warren. Warren got out of the inning safely, but found himself in a hole in the fourth after three base hits, two on back-to-back bunts, to load the bases. After striking out the next batter, a dropped pop-up allowed two Cougars to come home, tying the game at three.
Warren pitched 3.0 innings, striking out two and giving up four runs (two earned) on five hits.
The Cougars (32-12; 15-11 PBC) scored one more in the sixth inning, and with two outs and a runner on first, the Jags brought Tristan Jones to the mound. The right-handed sophomore's first pitch to McClellan went over the left-center field wall to score two, giving the Cougars a 6-3 lead that would eventually win the game.
In game two, junior lefty Matthew Kuhlenberg (3-4) took the mound for his eighth start of the season. The Cougars jumped out to a quick two-run lead in the first inning, but the Jags battled back with two of their own in the top of the second.
Drew Taylor (2-4; three-RBI) slapped a single to right field and scored on an error, before Nate Crown (1-1; RBI) earned his ninth RBI of the season, scoring Rau.
On the first pitch of the second inning, Manos sailed one over the right-field fence to put the Cougars back in the lead, but not for long.
Taylor knocked a three-RBI bomb over the right-center field wall in the third inning, giving the Jags a 5-3 lead. Manos came back to the plate in the fourth and hit his second homer of the game, but the Jags would get the run back off of a single by Rau (1-4; RBI) to score Taylor in the fifth.
The fifth inning also brought right-handed sophomore Tyler Brown to the mound. He struck out three and allowed three hits and a single run, which came in the seventh inning.
The Jags (15-24; 8-15 PBC) brought their final run across in the eighth on three walks and a hit-by-pitch. Right-handed reliever Adam Grice closed out the game, pitching two innings with two hits and striking out two, holding onto the 7-5 lead for the Jaguar win.
The Jags return home for a midweek game against the USC Aiken Pacers on Wednesday, April 22 at 6:00 p.m. in Lake Olmstead Stadium. The game does not count towards GRU's conference record.
GRU hosts UNC Pembroke on April 24-26 at Lake Olmstead Stadium for their last PBC series of the season at home. The series begins on Friday (6:00 p.m.) and Saturday (1:00 p.m.) and concludes on Sunday, April 26 for 2015 Senior Day. A pregame ceremony on Sunday will take place to honor our seniors.
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