COVINGTON - After a 10-hour drive from Illinois covering over 600 miles, the Lakers of Lake Land College were anything but prepared to play baseball Thursday afternoon against Georgia Perimeter College.
Showing up at the new Newton Campus field after their extensive road trip, the Lakers would still find themselves thinking about their previous losses.
Taking advantage, the Jaguars (3-4 overall) were able to put together back-to-back stellar pitching performances en route to their second and third straight victories, winning 8-2 and 6-3.
"We definitely enjoy winning," said Georgia Perimeter head coach Danny Blue. "(Lake Land) had a long trip and when our bats finally came alive they weren't ready for us."
In the first game of the doubleheader the Jaguars quickly found themselves to be ahead. With great fundamental baseball being played, they were able to steal bases and advance runners into scoring position when necessary.
After the runners strategically advanced, the bats did indeed come alive. Key doubles by both Craig Sparks and Denver Stovall helped the Jaguars preserve a six-run lead to which they would not relinquish.
Brent Hendrick, who also set the tone in the final game of the evening, closed out the win for the Jags in the seventh with one strike out, allowing one single.
"It was a nice win," said Hendrick. "I'm glad we got it off our shoulders."
During the second game, the Jaguars made it look like a re-run of the first. Posting another nine-hit barrage, they managed to take this one in style.
Despite giving up an early 1-0 lead, the Jags quickly retaliated, grabbing a 2-1 lead in the second inning. Several sound defensive plays by Georgia Perimeter helped preserve the lead. One instance occurred when catcher Kevin Boyd collected a wild pitch, throwing out the runner at home to end the fourth inning.
With runners on second and third in the fifth inning, Jeremy Reihn smacked a double to bring home two runs and give the Jags a 4-1 lead.
By adding another run in the sixth inning they were able to fend of a late comeback by the Lakers.
The Georgia Perimeter Jaguars will next host Chattahoochee Valley at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
