Clutch North Greenville offense leads to the end of Georgia College's season
The Sports Report of Central Georgia
Getting the second out in an inning is supposed be a good thing.
For North Greenville at the plate, having two outs was a great thing.
The Crusaders got nearly all of their runs with two outs, and came up big at the end to beat Georgia College 10-6 Saturday in an elimination game at the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.
Georgia College ends the season at 44-12, while NGU advanced with a 45-9 mark.
“It was really up for grabs,” Georgia College head coach Jason Eller said in the postgame press conference. “Momentum was back and forth all day.”
The Bobcats took a 3-1 lead after one.
“Came out gangbusters in the first inning and put up a three-spot,” Eller said “We were seeing the ball pretty good off their starting pitcher. We had opportunities to really blow it open, just like they did, and the pitchers kept making pitches, and making plays in the field.”
The Crusaders tied it in the second, and it stayed 3-3 until the fifth when the Bobcats – Peach Belt regular-season and tournament champs - got one on a Brandt Stalling sac fly.
“They have a great pitching staff,” Peach Belt player of the year Logan Mattix said. “Just keeping the ball down in the zone, not giving us a whole lot to hit.”
Both teams scored two in the sixth followed by a scoreless seventh.
North Greenville added two in the eighth and three in the ninth.
“We’re a team that’s very resilient,” NGU head coach Landon Powell said in the postgame conference. “One of the keys, I think, to the season and having success is we’re a resilient bunch. We don’t give in, we don’t give up, just keep grinding and showing up.”
The only Crusader run that didn’t come with two outs was Jeffrey Chandler’s homer to left to lead off the eighth. They got another run on a a sacrifice bunt that become the second out of the inning.
But the MO returned in the ninth with three runs after the first two batters were retired.
“They have a great lineup,” Eller said afterward. “It’s pretty balanced one through nine, like ours. It’s tough to navigate and deal with.”
The Bobcats managed to get a runner on in the eighth and ninth, but couldn’t do anything else. They stranded 11 runners, two more than the Crusaders.
Perry alum Cal Gentry, Matthew Miller, Logan Mattix, and Nate Schmal each had two hits for Georgia College, which was outhit 16-12.
Charlie Hecht, the conference pitcher of the year, came in for a relief stint and got the loss.
“I hate that it’s over; it’s going to be a tough ride home,” Eller said. “But when we startt to reflect, I think these guys will realize what an awesome job we did representing Georgia College.”