AU completes first winning season in baseball since 2016
By Shelbie Summerlin | Sports writer
AMERICUS—The Augusta University baseball team scored 10 runs in the seventh inning to rally past Georgia College on Saturday, May 6, in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament, but the Jaguars surrendered a 7-0 lead to give Columbus State a heart-stopping 11-10 win later that night.
The Jaguars’ second loss in the tournament ended their season with a 26-24 record, the first winning record for AU since 2016. The Jags had lost in the opener to host Georgia Southwestern 11-4. The Hurricanes will play Young Harris in the best-of-three championship series this coming weekend.
Saturday afternoon, Georgia College held the Jaguars to seven scoreless innings, and the Bobcats were up 6-0 before Mike Morrison got the Jags’ 10-run rally started with a solo homer to left field.
Koby Ayala singled through the middle to score Charlie Erickson and J. Ben Haynes. Pat Galvin hit a sac fly to right to score Ayala. Jordan Wilkie roped one down the left-field line to score Kyle Lodise.
The Jaguars rolled through the line-up as Morrison stepped up to the plate again and singled to right field to score Harrison Aulds. The bases were loaded when Erickson was hit by a pitch to send Wilkie in to score. Ayala singled down the right-field line to plate Morrison and Parker Ingram. Erickson was the 10th run of the game as he scored on a wild pitch.
In the top of the ninth, the Bobcats loaded the bases, and two runs were walked across the plate to score, but Jasper Dubberly was able to get the third out to move into the late-night ball game versus Columbus State.
Cody Shieder got the win on the mound for the Jaguars. In his one inning of work, he faced four batters on eight pitches, striking out one. Dubberly got the last two outs and earned his fifth save.
In the nightcap, Augusta and Columbus State were scoreless for three innings when the Jags started rolling in the fourth to score seven runs.
Ayala singled to left to score Haynes and Morrison. Galvin hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Erickson. Wilkie walked with bases loaded to plate Ayala. An error on the Columbus State shortstop allowed Lodise to score. Morrison singled up the middle to score Wilkie and Aulds before the Cougars were able to end the inning.
Columbus State did not let the 7-0 lead deter them as they slowly worked their way back. The Cougars scored two in the fourth, two In the fifth, two in the sixth, and then five in the seventh to take an 11-7 lead.
Augusta tried to stay in the ballgame as Aulds doubled down the right-field line to score Lodise, the PBC freshman of the year, and a throwing error on the pitcher let Aulds and Galvin score, but Columbus State got the third out before the Jaguars could tie it up for the 11-10 final and the end of AU’s season.
Contact Shelbie Summerlin at ssumerlin@augusta.edu.
