Box Score ROME, Ga. – The Shorter Hawks were unable to get their offense in gear as visiting Young Harris held homestanding Shorter to just five hits to record a 5-1 non-conference victory Saturday afternoon at the Robert H. Lebetter Baseball Complex.

The Hawks (1-5) and Young Harris (2-3) wrap up the three-game series on Sunday at "The Led" starting at 1 p.m.

On Saturday, Young Harris grabbed a 2-0 lead after scoring a run in the first and second innings, then added two more in the sixth to assume a 4-0 advantage.

At the same time, Lions starter Justin Cooper kept the Hawks in check at the plate yielding just four hits over the first five stanzas.

The Hawks finally reach Cooper in the sixth when Zach Santos homered and threated in the seventh inning when they loaded the bases only to leave them stranded when Young Harris reliever entered the game to slam the door.

The Lions added one more run in the eighth to close out the scoring.

Along with Santos, Dylan Riner, Ian Redetzky, Walker Borneman and Dustin Evans also had hits. Justin Machado took the loss for the Hawks, allowing four runs – three earned – on seven hits over 5.2 innings. Zachary Whitaker and Chadd Felder also took the mound for Shorter in relief roles.

Dave Atwood led Young Harris with three hits and drove in a run, and Josh Rudnik, Tom Valichka and Trey Rogers had two hits each for the Lions, who ended the afternoon scattering 12 hits.

After the Hawks end their showdown with Young Harris, they head to Americus on Wednesday for a non-conference meeting with Georgia Southwestern and next weekend open their Gulf South Conference slate with a three-game set against Valdosta State in Valdosta.