Mountain Lions take down No. 2 Cougars 6-5 in series finale
Photo by S and S Pix/YHC Athletics
By Michael MacEachern
Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Communications
Young Harris College claimed a 6-5 Peach Belt Conference baseball win over No. 2-ranked Columbus State University in the series finale Sunday (March 27) afternoon at Burger King Stadium at Ragsdale Field.
The Mountain Lions improved to 20-9 overall and to 8-4 in the Peach Belt, while the Cougars fell to 25-5 and 10-2. Young Harris returns to action Tuesday (March 29) with a 3 p.m. game against Mars Hill University in Mars Hill, North Carolina.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
Jackson Jones hit a home run in his third consecutive game against the Cougars as his solo shot to center field in the second inning to tie the game at 1. It was Jones' sixth homer of the season.
Marco Colina added a two-run single toi right-center field in the third inning to expand the Mountain Lion lead to 3-1.
After Columbus State tied the game at 3 after single runs in the third and fourth innings, the Mountain Lions took the lead for good at 4-3 on Noah Fitzgerald's sacrfice fly in the fifth.
Rome Wallace stroked his fourth homer of the year - a solo shot to right field - to give YHC a 5-3 lead in the sixth inning.
After CSU got a run back in the seventh, the Mountain Lions got an insurance run in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk to Colina.
Columbus State got a run back on an infield single in the bottom of the ninth to pull to within 6-5, but Brody Meeks earned his third save after retiring the final batter on a flyout.
McLain Harris, who was just making his second start of the season, went 8.1 innings, allowing just three earned runs. He scattered seven hits and struck out four as he improved to 5-1 this season.
Ethan Underwood, Steven Spell and Logan Worley each had two hits as Young Harris had 11 total. Kyle Ayers also had a double for YHC.