SMC Baseball Split For Second-Straight Day at CAC Showdown

Lawrenceville, Georgia – For the second straight day, Spartanburg Methodist College baseball split its two matchups as part of the CAC Showdown in Lawrenceville, Georgia, on Saturday. The Pioneers began the day with a 9–8 win over Carolina University and ended it with a 20–7 loss to host No. 2 Georgia Gwinnett.

In the win over Carolina University, the Pioneers recorded eight hits, including a double by Jarian Pinckney and a home run by Parker Winfield. Pinckney and Winfield each drove in a pair of runs. Blake Exizian improved his record to 5–0 with a five-inning outing, striking out six.

SMC jumped out to a 6–0 lead through the first three innings on its way to a 9–8 victory. The Pioneers got on the board with a two-run homer by Winfield in the second inning. They scored four unearned runs for the early lead.

After Carolina got on the scoreboard in the fourth, Pinckney drove in two with a double in the Pioneer half of the inning to make it 8–1. He later came around to score on a throwing error by the Bruins, pushing the lead to 9–1.

Carolina cut into the lead with three runs in the fifth and another in the sixth, trimming it to 9–5. The Pioneers withstood a late threat in the seventh and final inning, as the Bruins loaded the bases.

In game two, Georgia Gwinnett scored six runs in the third and seven in the sixth on its way to a 20–7 win.

Offensively, Leo Lopez, Justin Dawkins, and Thatcher Baughman each had two hits for the Pioneers, who totaled nine hits in the loss. Dawkins and Matt Smith each had three RBIs. Georgia Gwinnett right fielder Alex Harrell and second baseman Paul Winland drove in seven and six runs, respectively, for the nationally ranked Grizzlies.

An RBI single by Dario Astudillo in the top of the first briefly gave SMC a 1–0 lead. The Grizzlies responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning for a 3–1 advantage. Georgia Gwinnett added another in the second to make it 4–1. The Pioneers tied it in the third on a three-RBI double by Dawkins. Again, the Grizzlies answered with six runs in their half of the third.

After scoring three more in the fifth, Georgia Gwinnett gave up a three-run homer to Matt Smith in the sixth. However, they responded again, scoring seven runs in their half of the inning to seal the final margin.

SMC will close out the regular season with a trip to Sumter, S.C., to face Morris on Saturday, April 26, at 1 p.m.