GREENWOOD – Derek Wilson and Daniel Hinchberger pitched the Lander Bearcats to a pair of 3-2 victories over Georgia Southwestern for a Peach Belt Conference double-header sweep Saturday afternoon at Legion Field. (Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box)
Jonathan Myers hit a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth as Lander rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win Game 1 behind Wilson. Hinchberger pitched the Bearcats to the win in the nightcap as both Lander pitchers tossed complete games.
The Bearcats improved to 18-32 overall and 7-19 in the Peach Belt. Georgia Southwestern fell to 14-25, 8-15. The teams will finish their series Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Legion Field.
Lander took a 2-0 lead in the second inning of Game 2 as Danny Morgan singled, was forced out at second by Gabe McCann, Eric Barrett singled, Jared Altus hit an RBI single, TJ Guinan walked, and Myers drove home a run with a groundout.
Ricky Hutchison hit a sacrifice fly for the Hurricanes in the third.
The Bearcats made it 3-1 in the bottom of the third when Barrett singled, advanced to third when Altus reached on an error, and scored on Guinan's ground out.
Georgia Southwestern pulled within 3-2 in the fifth when Tommy Rice singled, stole second, and scored on a two-out single by Shane Newmans.
Hinchberger (7-5) allowed two runs on five hits while striking out nine and walking two in seven innings of work.
Austin Smith (4-5) took the loss, giving up three runs, two earned, on five hits while striking out four and walking two in six innings.
Barrett paced Lander in Game 2, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Rice was Georgia Southwestern's top hitter in the game, also going 2-for-3 with two runs.
The Bearcats trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the ninth of Game 1 but rallied against Georgia Southwestern reliever James Wilson (1-3). McCann led off with his third hit of the game, a single to left. He moved to second on Barrett's sacrifice bunt, and scored the game-tying run on Altus's single to left center. Guinan walked on five pitches and Myers singled to left to drive Altus home with the winning run.
Lander took a 1-0 lead in the second when McCann doubled to right, took third on a delayed steal, and scored when Altus reached on a bunt single.
The Hurricanes tied it in the fourth when Newmans was hit by a pitch, stopped at second on Patrick McCarthy's single, and scored on a double by Jordan Mullis.
Georgia Southwestern took a 2-1 lead in the sixth when Newmans singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved to third when McCarthy reached on an error by the shortstop, and scored on a two-out RBI single by Mullis.
Derek Wilson (2-10) was the winning pitcher for Lander, tossing a five-hitter. He struck out four and walked one. Brian Gartley pitched eight strong innings for the Hurricanes, allowing only one run on five hits while striking out six and walking three.
McCann was Lander's leading hitter in Game 1, going 3-for-4 with a double, triple and two runs scored. Altus went 2-for-3 with two RBI while Myers was 2-for-5 with the game-winning RBI.
Mullis paced Georgia Southwestern in the opener, going 2-or-4 with two RBI. Newmans was 1-for-3 with both of the team's runs.
