Team effort guides baseball to series victory over Bryan in extra innings
EMERSON, Ga. (March 21, 2022) – After splitting the doubleheader portion of its Appalachian Athletic Conference series, the Point University baseball team and the Bryan College Lions faced off in a rubber match Monday afternoon at the LakePoint Baseball Complex in Emerson, Ga., and after a back-and-forth battle, the Skyhawks walked away victorious, winning 12-9 in 10 innings.
Point was the first team on the scoreboard after Connor Varnum scored Dillon Brown in the top of the first, following an RBI-single to center field. The Lions' offense would go down quietly over the next three innings before Dante Morton would connect for a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the fourth to even the score 1-1.
The Skyhawks would quickly answer with two runs in the top of the fifth inning, following a two-RBI double from Kevin Howard that scored Jakobe Smith and Francisco Garcia (3-1). Point's regained lead would be short-lived as the Lions connected for six runs in the bottom of the frame to take the lead 7-3.
Point would not allow the Lions' lead to kill its momentum as Point quickly began to chip away at Bryan's lead. Point cut Bryan's lead back down to two in the top of the sixth, following an RBI single from Brown to score Kole Sonnier and a sacrifice fly from Garcia that scored Brown. Bryan would extend its lead back to three in the bottom of the frame with a sacrifice fly of their own (8-5).
In the top of the seventh, Point continued to rally back and worked their way to tie the game 8-8, starting with an RBI-double from Sonnier to score II Zadod Gabriel and a triple from Varnum would score Brown and Sonnier (8-8). Bryan's offense would answer again with a run in the bottom of the frame to go ahead 9-8. After a quiet eighth inning from both sides, the Skyhawks were down to their final at bat in the top of the ninth and Jhamante Woods would keep the game going with a solo home run to tie the game once again (9-9). Point's defense, led by sophomore Sage McWaters, would keep the Lions from connecting for a walk-off in the bottom of the ninth and force the game into extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, Varnum would lead off with a hit by pitch and Smith would follow with a single. With runners on first and second, Jackson Bush connected for a 2-RBI double to help earn the Skyhawks the lead (11-9). Alex Marquand would help add insurance to Point's lead with an RBI single that scored Bush and made the score 12-9. McWaters took the mound in the bottom of the 10th and continued his strong performance, holding the Lions scoreless to help Point to victory.
Point combined for 17 hits with six Skyhawks having multi-hit days. Brown, Howard and Sonnier each accounted for three hits, with Brown and Howard going 3-for-5 and Sonnier going 3-for-6. Brown and Sonnier each had an RBI and Howard had two. Varnum, Bush and Marquand each accounted for two hits, with Varnum going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, Bush going 2-for-5 with two RBIs and Marquand going 2-for-6 with one RBI.
McWaters was the fourth pitcher to take the mound for the Skyhawks and earned the win, going 3.0 innings, only giving up three hits and striking out two.
Up Next
With Monday's victory, Point has now won all four AAC series they have competed in and improved to 13-12 (8-4 AAC).
Baseball will be back in action tomorrow, March 22, as they host nonconference foe Faulkner University in West Point at 5 p.m.
