EMERSON, Ga. – The 18th-ranked University of Southern Indiana baseball team allowed a run in the ninth and fell to Georgia College, 6-5, in the conclusion of the Perfect Pitch Spring Swing Tuesday afternoon at the Lakepoint Sports Complex in Emerson, Georgia. USI sees its record go to 8-4 mark, while Georgia College goes finished the day 11-7.
The Screaming Eagles, who are ranked 18th nationally by National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and 30th nationally by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, fell behind in the second inning. The Bobcats scored three runs in the second and two more in the fifth, leading 5-1 at the halfway mark.
USI would rally in the bottom of the fifth, cutting the deficit to 5-4 with a three-run surge. Sophomore second baseman Sam Griggs (Evansville, Indiana) scored the first run of the rally on a wild pitch before sophomore designated hitter Drake McNamara (Mt. Vernon, Indiana) punctuated the three-run inning with a two-run blast to get the Eagles to within one run.
The Eagles knotted the game up at 5-5 in the seventh inning when senior rightfielder Kyle Kempf(Evansville, Indiana) drove in senior centerfielder Hamilton Carr (Evansville, Indiana). The score would remain tied until the ninth.
The Bobcats scored the eventual game-winner in the ninth on a sacrifice fly before the Eagles went down in order in the bottom half of the frame. USI junior right-hander Mike Ringer (Springfield, Illinois) took the loss for the Eagles. Ringer (1-1) went 3.1 innings, allowing the one run on four hits and striking out four.
USI returns to the Midwest and travels to Drury University for a non-conference three-game series March 11-13 for its first official road games of 2016 and finishes the road swing March 18 when it visits the University of Evansville.
The Eagles lead the all-time series with Drury, 17-7, after losing to the Panthers in the 2015 GLVC Tournament, 11-7. UE leads the all-time series with USI, 31-19, after posting a 7-4 victory in the annual game at Braun Stadium.
The next home games for the Eagles are March 19-20 when USI hosts Quincy University for a two-game series.
