LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The NAIA's No. 22-ranked Indiana Tech baseball program dropped the final two games of a three-game series against No. 12-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College, falling to the hosts 9-8 and 6-2 at the Grizzly Baseball Complex in a Friday afternoon doubleheader.
Sophomore designated hitter
Taylor Nychyk proved impressive in the opener, piling on three hits in five plate appearances and recording two RBI to join teammates
Glen McClain and
Tighe Koehring for the team lead. McClain would also reach safely in all five of his plate appearances, drawing four walks and knocking a single in the first.
In the tight-knit game one loss, the Warriors trailed 4-0 early after four complete innings of play before exploding for seven runs of their own in the fifth. The home side would trim the deficit to 7-6, scoring one run each in the fifth and sixth frames while the Orange and Black mustered one more in the eighth when McClain drew a bases-loaded walk. Trailing by two entering the final stanza, the Grizzlies would register four hits, including a walk-off single by right fielder Cord Johnson, and three runs for the come-from-behind victory.
The series nightcap would see the Warriors out to an early 2-0 lead after four innings thanks to a Koehring RBI single in the first and a McClain sacrifice fly in the third. From there, the visitors' bats were quieted to just two hits for the remaining five frames.
Warriors' starting pitcher
Brandon Hillier would hang four scoreless innings before allowing three runs in the bottom of the fifth. The home side would post three more insurance runs in the eighth against reliever
Austin Kemp, securing a sweep against the non-conference competition.
Hillier would finish by tossing 4.1 innings, allowing just three earned runs and striking out five. In game two, Indiana Tech would be paced by McClain who registered the only multi-hit effort going two-for-four from the plate in the series finale.
The Warriors (5-4) will now break from action until February 17th and 18th when they travel to Athens, Tennessee to take on No. 13-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan University in a four-game series. First pitch for game one of the doubleheaders is set for 12 p.m. each day.
