Young Harris, GA – Southern Wesleyan fell in both of their games against the Young Harris Mountain Lions on Saturday.  They dropped game one in a 9-8 final before falling in game two 28-10.

The Warriors picked up seven hits in their first game of the day.  Nolan Evatt and Ethan Shimmel each went 2 for 4 at the plate and picked up two RBIs during the game.  Evatt hit a home run, and both Shimmel and Luke Taylor had doubles.  The Warriors walked four times and Tristan Tillman and Shimmel each stole bases.  Tanner Lewis started the game on the mound and pitched three innings while striking out three batters.  Logan Brazell, Nick Gonsalves and Gavin Kent all came in to pitch in relief.  Gonsalves also struck out three batters.

Southern Wesleyan had 12 hits in the second game of the day.  Nolan Evatt, Ethan Shimmel and Perry Dyer each had two hits to their names.  Evatt, Shimmel, Samuel Simonds and Josh Long all doubled, and Dyer had the lone triple of game for the Warriors.  Matthew McCaffrey, Evatt and Dyer went on to lead the team with two RBIs each.  Southern Wesleyan walked four times and McCaffrey stole two bases.  Lukas Arvantides started the game on the mound for the Warriors and went 1.1 innings while striking out one batter.  Five Warriors came in to pitch in relief.  Coleman Wylie led the team by striking out three batters.  Wylie was followed by Luke Weldon who struck out two batters.

Game Vitals

Game One Final: Young Harris 9, Southern Wesleyan 8

Game Two Final: Young Harris 28, Southern Wesleyan 10

Records: Southern Wesleyan (2-6 / CC 0-1) Young Harris (6-3 / CC 1-0)

How It Happened

Game One

Southern Wesleyan started strong as they brought three runs in to score in the top of the first inning.  Tristan Tillman led off by reaching on a walk.  Tillman advanced to second base as Nolan Evatt walked.  Samuel Simonds ground out to the pitcher, but both Tillman and Evatt were able to advance a base.  With two runners in scoring position, Ethan Shimmel hit a double to left field to allow both Tillman and Evatt to come in to score.  Shimmel then stole third and then came in to score on the play.

The Warriors extended on their lead in the top of the third inning.  Tristan Tillman was hit by a pitch and then stole second to get into scoring position.  Nolan Evatt came up to bat and sent the ball deep over the outfield fence for a two run home run to extend the Warriors' lead to 5-0.

Young Harris answered in the bottom of the sixth inning as Smallwood and Morgan hit back-to-back home runs for the Mountain Lions.

In the seventh inning, the Mountain Lions struck again as Bray came up to the plate with two runners on base and sent the ball into right field for a double that brought both runners in to score.  Young Harris tied the game up a couple batters later as Smallwood got the ball into center field for a single that brought Bray in to score.

Southern Wesleyan regained the lead in the top of the eighth inning.  Ethan Shimmel led off the inning by sending the ball into left center field for a single.  Shimmel advanced to second as Perry Dyer walked.  Kade Bowling ground out to the pitcher to allow both runners to advance a base.  Josh Long came in to pinch hit for Seth Pettett and then reached on a fielding error by the Mountain Lions' second baseman to allow Shimmel to come in to score.  With runners on the corners and Beau Berge pinch running for Long, Matthew McCaffrey laid down a sacrifice bunt to bring Dyer in to score.  Luke Taylor sent the ball into left field for a double that allowed Berge to score to put the Warriors ahead 8-5.

The Warriors lead was short lived as Martans hit a three run home run in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game up at eight.  The Mountain Lions pulled ahead a couple batters later as a fielding error allowed Bray to come in to score and win the game in a 9-8 final score.

Game Two

Southern Wesleyan was first on the board in game two of the day against the Mountain Lions.  Tristan Tillman led off the inning by hitting a single to the short stop.  An error by the pitcher allowed Tillman to advance all the way to third base.  Nolan Evatt then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring Tillman in to score.

However, the Warriors lead was short lived as in the bottom of the first inning with a runner on, Hernandez sent the ball over the fence to give Young Harris a 2-1 run lead.  The Mountain Lions attacked again later in the inning as Smith doubled to bring in the third run of the inning for Young Harris.

Young Harris extended their lead in the bottom of the second inning as they brought eight more runs in to score.

The Warriors brought four runs in to score in the top of the third inning.  With one out, Samuel Simonds walked and then advanced to second on a passed ball.  Ethan Shimmel then walked to bring Perry Dyer up to the plate.  Dyer hit a single into center field to bring Simonds in to score.  With Shimmel at second and Dyer on first, Josh Long sent the ball to left center field for a double that allowed Shimmel to score.  Matthew McCaffrey hit the ball into center field for a single that brought both Dyer and Long in to score and put the Warriors behind the Mountain Lions 11-5.

A single off the bat of Contreras brought the Mountain Lions twelfth run in to score in the bottom of the third inning.

Southern Wesleyan was not done as they continued to chip away at Young Harris' lead in the top of the fourth inning.  With one out, Nolan Evatt hit a double into left field.  Evatt came in to score as Samuel Simonds sent the ball into right field for a double of his own.  Ethan Shimmel singled to the short stop to put runners on the corners.  With Perry Dyer at bat, a balk allowed Shimmel to advance to second and brought Simonds in to score.  Dyer then hit a triple to center field to bring Shimmel across home plate.

The Warriors brought another run in to score in the fifth inning.  Matthew McCaffrey led off by reaching first after being hit by a pitch.  McCaffrey then stole second to get into scoring position.  With McCaffrey in scoring position and two outs, Nolan Evatt hit a single to bring McCaffrey in to score.

Young Harris regained their six run advantage as they scored runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.

Southern Wesleyan was not done as they struck again in the seventh inning.  Matthew McCaffrey led off by reaching on a walk and then advanced to third base as Luke Taylor hit a single into right field.  With runners on the corners, Tristan Tillman hit a sacrifice fly to right field to allow McCaffrey to come in to score.

However, the Mountain Lions pressed on as they brought eight more runs in to score in the bottom of the inning and extend their lead to 23-10.  Young Harris continued to attack the plate in the eighth inning as they plated five more runs to win the game in a 28-10 final.

What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will then travel to Milledgeville, GA to take on the Georgia College Bobcats on February 18.  The Warriors will welcome the King Tornado on February 20-21.