Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan took down the Shorter Hawks in grand fashion on Tuesday evening in a 9-7 final.
The Warriors picked up 10 hits in the game with Marty Grisso, Cam Mitchem and Zachary Kim each recording two hits. Mitchem hit a grand slam and led the team with five RBIs. Kim had two doubles and Travis Hammond had one double. Southern Wesleyan walked twice and Hammond had a stolen base.
Kyle Dixon started on the mound for the Warriors and pitched three innings while striking out three batters. Garrett Swink, Jaylen Morgan, Alex Sweeney, Jackson Turner and Ash Faulk all came in to pitch in relief. Turner struck out two and both Morgan and Sweeney had solo strikeouts.
Game Vitals
Final: Southern Wesleyan 9, Shorter 7
Records: Southern Wesleyan (4-12) Shorter (9-6)
How It Happened
The Hawks took the first runs of the game as they brought two in to score in the top of the second inning. They extended their lead to three in the top of the third inning off a double by Griffin Clark.
Southern Wesleyan fought back in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, Jason Culley walked and then advanced to second when Marty Grisso was hit by a pitch. Cam Mitchem hit a single through the right side to advance Grisso to third and bring Culley in to score. With runners at the corners, Justin Purdom ground out to third base to bring Grisso in to score. Mitchem advanced to second on the play. Zachary Kim followed and hit the ball to deep left field for a double that brought Mitchem in to score to tie the game up. The Warriors pushed on as a single by Josh Long brought Kim across home plate to give the Warriors a 4-3 run advantage.
Shorter countered in the top of the fourth inning as a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly out by Krause brought two more runs in to score for the Hawks to give them the lead.
The Hawks extended their lead to 6-4 in the top of the fifth inning as Griffin Clark hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring Jacob Pajer in to score.
The Warriors began to chip away at the Hawks lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs, Luke Staton reached on a fielding error by the third baseman. Travis Hammond followed by hitting a double to left center field to bring Staton in to score.
However, Shorter regained a two run advantage in the top of the eighth inning off a single by Justin Barnes that brought Norman Lean across home plate.
Southern Wesleyan would not relent as they attacked the plate again in the bottom of the eighth inning. Luke Staton led off the inning with a single up the middle. With one out, Jason Culley was hit by a pitch and then Marty Grisso hit a single to second to load up the bases. Cam Mitchem came up to the plate and on the first pitch drilled the ball over the left field wall for a grand slam to give the Warriors a 9-7 run victory over the Shorter Hawks.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will remain at home on March 1-2 as they host the North Greenville Crusaders in Conference Carolinas action. They will then travel to Due West, SC on March 8-9 to take on the Erskine Flying fleet. The Warriors will host the Mars Hill Lions on March 12 before taking on the Limestone Saints on March 13 at the Greenville Drive Stadium.
