COCHRAN, Ga. –The Bethel Wildcats and the Middle Georgia State Knights played for over six hours Friday afternoon in Cochran, Georgia and in the end MGS won both games by the score of 5-4. The nightcap went 15 innings before the Knights won the marathon.
In game one Bethel led 4-0 entering the bottom of the fourth only to see MGS score five runs on only one hit in the bottom of the inning. Three walks and an error would be the undoing of Bethel ace Brady Jones in the inning. Dayton Beasley's two run home run was the big hit of the inning and game.
Bethel scored two runs in the first on runs driven in by Lucas Riddick and Jacob Foster. Foster and Jack Surber had RBI's in the third.
The Wildcats outhit the Knights 7-5 in the game. Bethel left five men on base while MGS stranded six runners in the game. Jones suffered the loss while Jared Crews picked up the Knight win.
MGS jumped out to a 1-0 lead in game two pushing across a run in the bottom of the third. Bethel's Lucas Riddick gave the Wildcats a 3-1 lead in the top of the fifth with a three-run blast. Faulkner answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead at 4-3. The Wildcats bounced back in the sixth with as a single by Kendall Adkisson drove in Randy Guevarez to knot the game at 4-4.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the 15th inning when Middle Georgia's Jeremie Little hit a game winning homer to give the Knights the sweep. It was a game for Bethel in what might have been. The two combined to leave 35 runners on base. Bethel left 19 runners stranded and left runners in scoring position in several innings. MGS outhit Bethel 16-12 in the game. Riddick led the Cats with three hits.
Austin Bowker picked up the win while Alex Valcarcel suffered the loss. Bethel's John Michael Spoon was superb keeping the Cats in the game with six scoreless innings in relief.
The two teams meet again Saturday in Cochran at 1 p.m. Bethel is 10-11 overall and 4-4 in the SSAC. MGS is 22-9 and 4-4 in league action.
