WGTC postseason chances increase with double header sweep

WEST GEORGIA TECH BOOSTS POSTSEASON CHANCES WITH DOUBLEHEADER SWEEP OF EAST GEORGIA FRIDAY, 7-3 AND 5-1

DOUGLASVILLE, Georgia – West Georgia Tech solidified its postseason chances with a series-opening doubleheader sweep of East Georgia in Douglasville Friday afternoon, 5-1 and 7-3.

West Georgia Tech entered the day locked into a four-team horserace for two final spots in next week’s Region 17 Tournament in Albany, Ga.

All that separated WGTC, ABAC, Andrew and South Georgia was a game or less going in to Friday night’s action. Andrew and South Georgia are playing each other in a four-game series this week while ABAC is facing Gordon.

Based on how the action unfolded with the other teams on Friday night, West Georgia Tech could have already clinched a spot in the tournament. Another win over East Georgia in one of the remaining two games would almost certainly get them in.

“I’m proud of the way we battled today,” said WGTC head coach Todd Pratt. “We had a couple of great pitching efforts and we scored runs when we needed them and got outs defensively. All around, a good day.”

WGTC rode the arm of staff ace Brad Bartlett to a 5-1 victory in game one.

Bartlett, a Lagrange native, went the distance allowing just a run on four hits over nine innings. He struck out five and walked one.

“Bartlett was great out there today,” said Pratt. “He has been outstanding for us all season.”

Douglas County product Mike Bryan led West Georgia Tech’s nine-hit attack with a 3-for-4 afternoon.

Rus Morman went 2-for-4 on the day, and Anthony Brown blasted a two-run homerun over the wall in left-center to give the Golden Knights a 4-0 lead in the second inning.

“It was good to see Anthony Brown get some big hits for us in both games,” Pratt said. “His home run opened the game up a little bit early.”

In game two, WGTC’s Chris Irwin got the win after a solid effort in which he went six innings allowing three runs on five hits in 6.0 innings.

Tyler Gunnin pitched a scoreless seventh to earn the save.

The Golden Knights took control of the game early with six runs in the first inning and coasted the rest of the way.

Blake Butcher went 2-for-4 and Aaron Brown went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI’s to lead West Georgia Tech offensively.

Hudson Power added a 2-RBI double for the Golden Knights.

West Georgia Tech and East Georgia will close out the regular season with a doubleheader on Saturday, weather permitting. If Saturday is a wash-out, the twin bill will be rescheduled for Sunday or even possibly Monday.

“I’m disappointed that the weather isn’t cooperating, but it is what it is,” Pratt said. “We’ll monitor it Saturday morning and make a decision, and we’ll just go from there.”