ALBANY, Ga. — Georgia Southwestern used a timely swing and a steady finish on the mound to break through in midweek play, holding off Albany State for a 4-3 win Tuesday evening at the ASU West Campus Baseball Field to close out an eight-game road trip.
The Hurricanes snapped a five-game midweek skid dating back to February 17 and improved to 19-20 overall, leaning on a late go-ahead homer and their longest relief outing of the season to seal it.
Back-and-Forth Early
Georgia Southwestern struck first in the second inning, stringing together three extra-base hits.
Drew Reaves got things started with an RBI double before
Caleb Gipson followed with a run-scoring double of his own down the right-field line to give GSW a 2-0 lead.
Albany State answered immediately, cutting the deficit on a solo home run in the second before taking a 3-2 lead in the third with a two-out rally that included an RBI single and a sacrifice fly.
Despite the early push from the Golden Rams, GSW starter
Wade Johnson settled in, finishing five innings with three runs allowed while keeping the Hurricanes within striking distance.
Wainman Delivers the Swing
The breakthrough came in the seventh.
After
Drake Harman worked a walk and moved into scoring position,
Evan Wainman delivered the decisive blow — a two-run home run to flip a one-run deficit into a 4-3 Georgia Southwestern lead. It marked Wainman's 13th multi-RBI game and his team-leading eighth home run of the season.
The rally proved to be just enough.
Raper Slams the Door
Jackson Raper took over in the sixth and turned in his longest outing of the season, tossing four scoreless innings to earn the win. He allowed just one hit and worked around a walk while consistently inducing weak contact down the stretch.
Raper retired six of the final seven hitters he faced, including a clean ninth inning to secure the Hurricanes' first midweek victory in nearly two months.
At the Plate
Gipson led the Hurricanes with two hits, recording his 14th multi-hit game of the season while adding an RBI and a stolen base.
Harman reached base twice with a pair of walks and extended his on-base streak to 30 consecutive games.
Wainman drove in two runs on his seventh-inning homer, while Reaves added an RBI double as part of Georgia Southwestern's seven-hit effort.
Next Up
GSW returns to conference play this weekend with a three-game series against Flagler College starting Friday at 6 p.m..
