Carrollton, Ga. - Coming off a tough road trip that saw the Wolves lose five of their last six games, coach Skip Fite's team was looking for a spark. That spark came from the left arm of junior pitcher
Kegan Bailey, as the West Georgia Wolves (7-13) defeated Bellarmine University, 3-2 at Cole Field on Friday.
Bailey (2-0), making just his second start on the season, kept the BU hitters off-balance all afternoon with a steady array of breaking pitches and pin-point accurate fastballs . The Grayson, Ga. native threw 8.1 innings, giving up just five hits and struck out six while allowing just two runs to earn the much needed victory for the Wolves.
The Wolves' bats jumped on the Knights early scoring two runs in their first trip to the plate. After reaching base on a walk to start the ballgame, designated hitter
Michael Hornsby advanced to second when BU shortstop Patrick Brady made a costly throwing error attempting to turn a double play on a groundball off the bat of UWG first baseman
Blake Parrott.
After senior
Brian York was plunked on the back to load the bases, Hornsby scored the first run of the day on a fielder's choice by shortstop
Justin Smith. With two outs in the inning, senior Ben Lillis delievered a clutch RBI infield single to bring Parrott across the plate to make the game 2-0 in favor of UWG.
Both teams exchanged zeros on the scoreboard until the Wolves struck again in the fourth inning. Freshman
Brett Wright started the inning with a hard single through the infield and later came around to score on a single by second baseman
Alex Duhaime.
Bailey held the Knights scoreless until the ninth inning when he ran into some minor trouble for the first time. After retiring the leadoff batter, Bailey walked the next hitter and the Knights followed with a single, finally chasing the crafty southpaw from the game.
Senior Kevin Ferguson came in to relieve Bailey and gave up an RBI single to the first batter he saw and threw a wild pitch to allow the second run of the game for Bellarmine. After recording an out via a groundball Fite made another call to the bullpen, this time for lefty
Keith Manley.
With the potential game-tying run on second base, Manley struck out the only batter he faced to end the scare and record his first save of the season for the Wolves.
The hit streak stayed alive for Hornsby, making it 20 straight games, as he extended his season-long dominance at the plate with a single down the left field line in the second inning.
The Wolves and Knights (5-8) continue their four game weekend series at Cole Field with a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 12:30 p.m.