Pfeiffer Snags Rubber Game, Sink Saints 6-4
DAHLONEGA, GA
– Pfeiffer University put a four spot on the board in the
seventh inning on their way to taking the rubber game of a
three-game set over 24th-ranked North Georgia on Sunday afternoon
at Bob Stein Stadium in non-conference action.
North Georgia drops both contests in the opening weekend
doubleheader, falling to 1-2 on the season, while Pfeiffer gets
back to the .500 mark at 2-2 with the series finale victory.
It was Pfeiffer who would jump on top in the first inning in the
final game of the series as Preston Lyon provided the RBI, giving
the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
The Saints answered in the fourth inning as Andre Airich notched
his first home run of the year, unloading and launching a ball down
the left field line that cleared the yellow line, knotting the
score at a run apiece. Later in the inning, Daniel Petitti gave
North Georgia the lead, guiding a double to right center that
brought Troy Snitker around to score and make it a 2-1 game.
After Pfeiffer’s Aarin Sharpe tied the game in the fifth
inning with a single up the middle, Snitker came to the plate
drilled a fastball halfway up the mountain in left field, putting
the Saints right back on top 3-2 heading to the seventh inning.
In the seventh frame, the Falcons unleashed four hits and used RBI
doubles from Zack Pou and Lyon to put a four spot on the board and
take a 6-3 advantage. Kenny Bellavance pulled the Saints to within
two runs in the eighth inning as the freshman lined a single to
left center, scoring Snitker and making it a 6-4 Falcon lead, a
margin that held true to the final out.
Pfeiffer’s Eric Shuford (1-0) was credited with the victory,
going 6.0 innings and allowing seven hits and three earned runs
while striking out four. North Georgia’s Michael Patton (0-1)
suffered the loss out of the pen, lasting one inning and allowing
one hit and two earned runs while walking one.
North Georgia returns to action next weekend, traveling to
Stillman College for a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon set to
start at 2:00 p.m., followed by the final game of the series on
Sunday afternoon. The Saints will then return home to the friendly
confines of Bob Stein Stadium for eight of their next nine games.
