PULASKI, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Southern baseball team finished the season-opening series with Calumet College of St. Joseph dropping game three 23-14 and winning game four 17-11on Sunday. The Firehawks outscored the Crimson Wave 52-34 in the series.

GAME THREE

Michael Wurtz put the Firehawks on the board in the first with his RBI single.

CCSJ would crest in the second and third scoring 21 runs in the pair of innings. In the UTS third, Kevin McCarthy would homer to center driving in a pair of runs. Blake Birdsong would also double in a pair of runs to bring the Firehawks closer at 21-5.

Landon Rogers would stay hot blasting a two-run bomb in the fourth. Wurtz would also launch a two-run homer to sneak closer trailing 21-9 after four innings of play.

In the fifth, the duo of Rogers and Wurtz would smash another pair of round-trippers to drop the Crimson Wave lead to nine.

In the sixth, Josh Porter would go yard with 2 RBIs. UTS was poised to continue the comeback, but in the final inning, CCSJ would plate a pair to win 23-14.

Weston Horton would get the start in the pitch-by-committee game. Horton would hurl 1.2 innings allowing five earned runs, and retiring five Crimson Wave batters on strikes.  Griffin Sahil, Connor Marlin, and Justin Beachler would combine to pitch 1.1 innings and allow a pair of earned runs. Janzen Powell would allow two hits in a scoreless inning of work. Cody Womble sat down three on strikes allowing a pair of hits in two innings. Josh Simmons would hurl the last inning allowing two earned runs.

GAME TWO

UTS would get on the board first on a Birdsong single to right in the first.

In the second, Wurtz would score two on a double. Rogers would score a run on a ground out. Birdsong would plate a run on a triple as the Firehawks would lead 5-1.

In the third, Noah Junker would smash his first career homer in "grand slam" fashion scoring four runs. Rogers would spring around the bases on a dropped fly by the CCSJ right fielder pushing the Firehawk lead to 10-2.

UTS would have a big inning in the fourth. Cannon Raby would receive an RBI after being hit by a pitch. Junker would single giving him his fifth RBI of the day. Wurtz would crush a grand slam, and Rogers would score on a wild pitch. UTS would lead 17-3.

Joe Hicks would allow two earned runs in two innings of work. Gerry Wayne Davis would allow one earned run in 2.0 innings of work fanning three batters. Caiden Rodgers, Sam Bowling, and Devin Buckhalter would combine to allow seven earned runs in the final three innings.

NEXT UP

The Firehawks will travel to Montgomery, Ala. to face #6 Faulkner on Tuesday, February 7th beginning at 6 pm.

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