Friday, February 2, 2007

CURTIS PITCHES COMPLETE GAME IN SEASON-OPENER
Saints pull out victory after trailing 3-2 in the 7th

Wilson, NC – Junior pitcher Chris Curtis threw a complete game five-hitter in his debut for North Georgia College & State University, leading the Saints to an 11-3 victory over Barton College at Nixon Field on a chilly Friday afternoon.

North Georgia found themselves trailing 3-2 heading into the seventh inning, but managed to score nine runs over the final three innings to win their season opener.

Trailing by one run in the seventh, freshman Brad Hall started the inning by reaching on a fielding error by the third baseman. He advanced to second when junior Neil Krock sacrificed him up 90 feet with a bunt. Freshman Kevin Morrison reached on a walk, putting runners at first and second and setting the stage for a big inning. Sophomore Anders Oster reached on an error by the shortstop, loading the bases with just one out in the top of the seventh inning. Freshman Craig Brisson doubled to right center to drive in Hall and Morrison, giving the Saints a 4-3 lead.

Following Curtis' fifth scoreless inning of the afternoon, the Saints scored three more runs in the eighth inning. Following two quick ground outs to start the inning, freshman Daniel Petitti doubled to left. Hall singled to center to drive in Petitti and give the Saints a 5-3 lead with two outs in the eighth inning. Hall advanced to second on a passed ball, followed by walks from Krock and Morrison to load the bases. Following a pitching change, Oster singled to right center to drive in Hall and Krock to give the Saints a 7-3 lead heading into the ninth.

The ninth inning was started by a walk to freshman Andre Airich. Following a pitching change, senior Justin Rickett blasted his first homerun of the season - a two-run shot to right center. Senior Creston Warner was the next man at the plate, and was hit by a pitch. Following a line out, Hall doubled to right sending Warner to third. Following a ground out, Morrison reached on an error by the second baseman allowing Warner to score and push the lead to 10-3. Hall was credited with a stolen base as he scored the final run of the inning, and the game.

Curtis (1-0) went nine innings, allowing three runs off of five hits. He also struck out six and walked just one. His only jam of the day came in the fifth inning when he allowed two runners to cross the plate.

Oster led the way at the plate for North Georgia (1-0), going 3-for-6 from his leadoff spot. He scored one run and drove in three on the day. A trio of other Saints picked up multiple hits on the day, including Rickett who finished 2-for-5 with three runs batted in. Petitti went 2-for-5 with a run scored, while Hall went 2-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI. Morrison finished 1-for-3 with three walks.

Kelly Stracke took the loss for Barton (0-1).

The same two teams play the second game of the series at Nixon Field on Saturday at 1:00 pm.

-NGCSU-

Box Score

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