PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.- Savannah State completed their three game series with Clark Atlanta by sweeping the Panthers in a double header on Saturday afternoon at Home Plate Field.
The Tigers won the opener 13-4 and wrapped up the series with a 14-9 victory.
The weekend series was a homecoming for 16 members on the SSU roster who hail from Atlanta or some of the cites in the metro area which include Lawrenceville, McDonough, Jonesboro, Stone Mountain, Marietta, Covington, Dallas and College Park.
In the first game, Savannah State was led by
Kendal Spencer and
Reginald Tuggle who both hit two-run home runs.
Brevin Smith hit a RBI sacrifice fly in the first inning and in the top of the second, the Tigers sent five runners across home plate with
Chandler Hicks hitting a RBI single,
Julian Grier hitting a RBI double,
Johan Sandoval hitting a two-run single and Smith hitting a RBI double to left field.
CAU sliced their deficit to 6-2 in the bottom of the third but the Tigers answered with Spencer hitting a two-run home run over the right field fence to give SSU a 8-2 lead.
The Panthers scored a run in the sixth and a RBI single by Hicks in the seventh put SSU up 9-3.
A two-run home run by Tuggle in the top of the eighth increased the Tigers advantage to 11-3 but CAU scored a run in the bottom of the inning to cut SSU's lead to seven.
Savannah State added the final two runs of the game in the top of the ninth when Grier hit a RBI single and Spencer hit a sacrifice fly that scored Hicks.
Five SSU pitchers recorded seven strikeouts to help earn the win.
Gregorio Gonzalez was awarded the win after pitching for three innings and giving up five hits, two runs and one walk while striking out one.
At the plate, Spencer had three RBI, and scored three times while Sandoval and
Tyler Tucker added three hits apiece.
In the second game, the Tigers broke a tie game with six runs in the fifth inning to pull away.
The contest was close in the early innings with the teams matching each other for runs.
A RBI single by
David Sanders and a RBI double by
Kijani Clarington in the top of the first inning gave SSU a 2-0 lead but Clark Atlanta scored two runs in the bottom of the inning.
Spencer hit a RBI single in the second inning and the Panthers scored a run in the inning to make the score 3-3.
A RBI single by Hicks put SSU ahead 4-3 in the top of the third but Clark Atlanta added three runs in their turn at bat to go in front 6-4.
A two-run double by Smith in the fourth tied the game at 6-6 and the Tigers went ahead 7-6 when Smith scored following Sanders' line out to the shortstop.
The Panthers had a runner to score in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 7-7.
Savannah State scored six runs on three hits in the fifth as Tucker hit a solo home run while Smith and Tuggle both hist two-run doubles. Tuggle crossed home plate when McNeal lined out to the right fielder to give the Tigers some breathing room with a 13-7 cushion.
Tuggle hit a RBI single in the sixth for a 14-7 lead and CAU scored twice in the bottom of the sixth for the final runs of the day.
CAU left ten runners on base in the game while their pitchers issued nine walks.
Smith drove in four runs and scored three times for Savannah State while Sandoval and Spencer both crossed home plate three times. Tuggle had three RBI, Sanders had two and Grier scored twice.
Austin McCormack lasted 2.2 innings on the mound but struck out three batters while surrendering four hits, five runs and one walk.
Savannah State improves to 27-10 overall and 23-7 in the SIAC with the wins. The Tigers will play their last non-conference game of the season against USC Beaufort on April 22 at 3 p.m. at Tiger Field.
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