Wes Timmons' Shorter Hawks improved to 5-3 with two wins over LeMoyne-Owen, 8-1 and 11-1. The Hawks swept the four game series against the Magicians.
In Saturday's first game, Shorter got on the board in the top of the first inning. Blaze Vazquez was hit by a pitch and then stole second. First baseman Ty Cherry singled to center field, allowing Vazquez to score.
LeMoyne-Owen scored its only run of game one in the second inning thanks to Tyrone Gaston. Gaston singled, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a wild pitch. Shorter scored twice in the bottom of the second when Jerry Liang doubled, batting in Sean Acevedo and Patrick Sanderson.
The score remained unchanged until the final two innings. The Hawks managed five runs over the fifth and sixth innings - highlighted by Sanderson's 2-run homer which made the score 5-1 in favor of Shorter heading into the sixth inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Liang singled and Steven Maier walked. Nate Bock, a pinch runner for Liang, scored when Raul Cortez flied out to center. Maier stole second and advanced to third on Cortez's sacrifice fly, before crossing home plate on a passed ball. After Maier scored, a shot off the bat of Sheldon Drake left the park, making the final score 8-1 in favor of the Hawks.
Jacob Farmer earned the win for Shorter. The sophomore struck out nine of 12 batters faced, giving up one hit over 3.1 innings.
The Hawks won Saturday afternoon's second contest, 11-1, thanks to a big third inning. After Drake batted in two runs in the second, Shorter scored six runs the next inning. It all started when Cherry walked and the next two batters - Sanderson and Dustin Lawson, singled. With the bases loaded, Liang reached on an error. All runners advanced, and the Hawks took a 3-0 lead. With the bases still full, Brian Cabrera stepped into the batters box and hit a two-rbi single to center field. Two batters later, Drake managed a two-rbi single of his own. Vazquez and Cherry doubled - plating the final two runs of the inning, giving Shorter a commanding 9-0 lead.
Two more runners crossed the plate in the bottom of the fourth for the home team. LeMoyne-Owen scored once in the top of the fifth, but the game was called after five innings. Michael Weiksner received the win, pitching four innings. LOC's Darryl Dunbar took the loss.
The Hawks look to continue their winning ways on Tuesday when they travel to Albany State. First pitch is set for 1 PM EST from Albany, GA.
