FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 31, 2009
Contact: Robert Preston, Jr.,
912.260.4276
robert.preston@sgsc.edu
Bears take three from Tigers
The South Georgia College Tigers fell to 3-9 in conference
play after dropping three games to the Truett McConnell Bears in Cleveland
Sunday and Monday. Originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, the
three-game series had to be postponed a day due to heavy rains that moved
across Georgia on Saturday.
When the two teams finally took the field Sunday afternoon, they went right
to work. The Bears won 11-10 in a slugfest. Collectively, Truett and SGC
totaled 21 runs on 28 hits and used eight pitchers. They also combined for
nine errors.
The game was a back and forth affair, with Truett taking the lead for good
after going up 9-8 in the bottom of the seventh. The Bears added two more
runs in the eighth to extend their advantage.
But the Tigers weren’t about to give up. The first two batters, Justin
Roberts and Brandon Collins, went down in order. Then SGC started a two-out
rally. Keenan Ivey reached base on an error by shortstop Daniel Ficarotta.
Chris Thompson moved Ivey to third on a single to right-center. Truett
changed pitchers, bringing in Recardo Billups. He walked Lee Hall to load
the bases with two outs. Andrew Anderson singled to score Ivey and Thompson,
and advance Hall to third base. The two-RBI single brought the Tigers to
within one, 11-10. Truett made another pitching change, this time sending
Ted Pratt to the mound. He retired pinch hitter Austin Palmer to preserve
the win for the Bears.
Starter James Hickey (4-4, 5.84) took the loss. He lasted seven innings and
gave up nine runs (six earned) on 11 hits. Tony Albritton gave up two runs
in a third of an inning. Jamaal Smith finished things off for the Tigers; he
didn’t surrender a run in two-thirds of an inning of work.
Andrew Anderson and Brandon Collins each had three hits and three RBI. Chris
Thompson and Stuart Drew each scored two runs. Drew, who was also 2 for 5
with two RBI, hit his first home run as a Tiger, a solo blast in the top of
the fifth.
Neither game in Monday’s double-header provided much drama. The Bears won
game one 9-2 and game two 5-2. The starting pitcher in game one, Greg
Fietsam (3-5, 4.97), got hit for five runs (all earned) on 11 hits in 4 1/3
innings. He took the loss for the Tigers.
Truett held SGC scoreless until the top of the eighth, when Keenan Ivey and
Andrew Anderson scored during a brief rally. Stuart Drew, who went 3 for 5,
was the only Tiger with more than one hit.
In game two of the double-header, the Bears jumped out to a 5-0 lead after
five innings. SGC plated its only runs in the top of the sixth when Drew and
Zack Kilday scored. Once again Drew, who was 2 for 3 with a run scored, was
SGC’s only batter with a multi-hit game.
Ryan Whiddon (2-3, 3.98), gave up five runs (all earned) on eight hits in
five innings and took the loss.
The losses drop the Tigers to 19-20 overall. After traveling to
Milledgeville Tuesday for a double-header against the Georgia College JV
team, SGC returns home for seven games before finishing the season with an
eight-game road trip. The home stand begins Friday with a 6 p.m. game
against Andrew College. The series continues Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
with a double-header.
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About South Georgia College
South Georgia College (www.sgc.edu)
was founded in 1906 and is a two-year institution in the University System
of Georgia. Located in Douglas, Ga., the college's environment gives
students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close
collaboration with faculty.
