Chargers fall at East Georgia State, 7-5

The Georgia Highlands Chargers fell behind early and did not recover Friday afternoon in a 7-5 loss at conference foe East Georgia State.

Although the Chargers grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the host Bobcats answered with seven runs in their first four offensive frames for a 7-3 lead.

The Chargers added two more runs in the sixth to narrow their deficit to 7-5 but that is as close as they would get.

East Georgia pitching starter Jake Green (5 IP, 3ER, 5H, 4BB, 6K) picked up the win on the mound for the Bobcats. Robert Wiley (4 IP, 2ER, 3H, 3BB, 6K) retired the final dozen outs on the bump.

Jhonkeanu Perez (home run, three RBIs) and Zach Kwiatkowski (double, three RBIs) had four hits each to lead the East Georgia State offense.

CJ Blackwell (two doubles), Mitchell Walker, and Ryan Wideman (RBI) had two hits each for the Chargers. Hudson Sapp (double, two RBIs) and Jay Murdock (two RBIs) added one hit apiece.

Oliver Wood (3 IP, 5R, 4ER, 7H, 2HBP, 2K), Davis Mortland (1 IP, 2ER, 3H, 1BB), and Cole Turner (4 IP, 0R, 4H, 3K) pitched for GHC in the loss.

The Bobcats improved to 23-25 on the season and 9-13 in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association standings.

Georgia Highlands (31-19, 11-11) remains in third place in the GCAA with three games remaining in regular season play. South Georgia has clinched the conference regular season title with GHC trailing second place ABAC by two games.

The Chargers play at Gordon State Saturday afternoon, host South Georgia Tuesday, and visit Andrew College next Thursday.

The GCAA conference tournament will be hosted by Georgia Highlands May 8-10.