Box Score

DAHLONEGA, GA – North Georgia put up one of their biggest comebacks of the year on Sunday afternoon, but Truett-McConnell College rallied for an 11-10 extra innings victory over the Saints in non-conference action on Bob Stein Stadium dedication day.

The Saints fall to 31-15 overall on the season, while the cross-town rival Bears improve to 24-21 on the year.

Before first pitch, a dedication for Bob Stein Stadium took place in front of a packed house as more than 500 spectators were on hand for the event. North Georgia president Dr. David Potter and Director of Athletics Randy Dunn recognized Bob Stein with a plaque on the field before unveiling letting on the newly built facility.

With North Georgia trailing by six and down to their final out in the ninth, the Saints loaded the bases and Daniel Petitti came to the dish with two outs and belted a double off the base of the fence in center field to plate a pair of runs and make it a 10-6 game.

After Craig Brisson was hit by a pitch to load the bases again, Jordan Erisman stepped to the plate representing the tying run and coaxed a four-pitch walk to send Adam Baker to the plate and cut the lead to three at 10-7. Airich followed with a chance to tie the game and the senior did just that, belting a double to right field that cleared the bases and tied the game 10-10 to force extra innings.

Jacob Rickett was on the mound in the 10th inning and was unable to find the zone as the sophomore walked in what turned out to be the winning run. Rickett was tagged with the loss in the game, falling to 1-1 on the year, while Ethan Seagraves tossed the final out of the ninth inning and closed out the Saints in the 10th for the victory out of the pen.

The Bears took the lead early as Tyler Bourdo, the second hitter of the game, launched a home run to right field to send Truett-McConell up 1-0 in the first inning. Teddy Leverett tacked on two more runs for the Bears in the second inning with a two-run blast to left center, extending the lead to 3-0.

After TMC made it a 4-0 lead with a run in the fourth, the Saints came back in the bottom half of the inning and Troy Snitker singled through the left side to plate Kenny Bellavance, and Chad Sage scored later in the frame on a groundout to cut the Bears’ lead in half at 4-2.

Andre Airich cut into the lead again in the fifth inning as the senior led off the frame with a solo bomb to left field that landed half way up the mountain to make it a 4-3 Truett-McConnell lead.

The Bears answered with a pair of runs in each of the two innings as Leverett continued his hot streak with a two-run double to right field in the sixth inning, while the center fielder came to the dish again in the seventh inning and sent two more runs home with a triple down the right field line to make it 8-4.

TMC added two more runs in the ninth as Daniel Ficarrotta locked in on a hanging breaking ball and launched the team’s third long ball of the year, this time to left center to give the Bears a 10-4 lead to set up the Saints’ fireworks in the last of the ninth.

The Saints return to action next weekend, traveling to St. Augustine, Florida, to take on Flagler College in a three-game non-conference series. The two teams are also set to battle in the first round of the Peach Belt Conference tournament on May 8, in Aiken, South Carolina.