Baseball team hammers Young Harris 18-5 after 10-run first inning, hosts AAC doubleheader with Montreat this Saturday

WALESKA, Ga. -- At home in a wild non-conference game on Wednesday evening, the Reinhardt University baseball team scored 10 runs in the first inning en route to hammering the Young Harris College Mountain Lions 18-5 in seven innings at Ken White Baseball Field. Reinhardt's win avenged a 9-4 loss at Young Harris on Tuesday night.

 

The Eagles built a commanding 16-0 lead after tallying two runs in the third inning and four in the fifth. In the sixth inning, the Mountain Lions put up five runs before Reinhardt pushed two more across in the bottom half to conclude the scoring. The contest ended in the middle of the seventh inning due to the 10-run mercy rule.

The winners collected 16 hits and made no errors while YHC had seven hits and five errors. Young Harris, which has applied for NCAA Division II status, drew 16 walks from Eagles pitchers and left 20 runners on base. Reinhardt stranded eight base runners.

Leading the Eagles' offensive attack was Josh Wilson, who finished 3-for-4 with a double, walk, five RBIs and two runs scored. Zach Kles was 2-for-3 with two walks, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored while freshman Alan Hardisty (two RBIs, two runs scored) and Michael Lonati (double, three runs scored) each went 2-for-4. Freshman Tucker Adams ended 2-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored.

Cory Cox was Reinhardt's starting and winning pitcher, allowing four hits with four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. Chris Fletcher, Ricky Johnson and Jake Waters combined to shut out the Mountain Lions over the final 1 2/3 innings.

The Eagles move to 8-13 overall while YHC slips to 16-13. Reinhardt hosts an Appalachian Athletic Conference doubleheader with the Montreat (N.C.) College Cavaliers this Saturday at 3 p.m.