Chargers reach GCAA title game

Georgia Highlands scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday afternoon to break open a previously tied game and defeated South Georgia 9-3 to reach the championship round of the 2017 Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) Championship Tournament.

The Chargers led 2-0 heading to the seventh inning when South Georgia scored three times to go ahead 3-2. GHC tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh on a Matt Vaccaro RBI single, before the big eighth inning rally.

Caleb McElwaney led off the second inning with a solo home run and John White homered in the fifth for the Chargers’ early lead.

In the eighth, Georgia Highlands scored six times.

Devin Bilardello had a two-RBI single, White added a RBI single, and Vaccaro blasted a three-run homer.

Tyler Sellers earned the pitching win by working the final two and two-thirds innings. He did not allow a run and yielded only two hits. He fanned two.

Matthew Norton (6.1 IP, 3ER, 6H, 1BB, 5K) started on the mound for the Chargers.

Georgia Highlands (39-19) is the only undefeated team remaining in the double-elimination tournament. The Chargers will play the South Georgia (38-21) vs. ABAC (31-27) winner Saturday at noon at LakePoint. With a victory, GHC wins the tournament and advances to the East Central Regional at Dyersburg State (TN). The South Georgia-ABAC winner will need to defeat Georgia Highlands twice to win the title.