COVINGTON - After a slow start to open the season, the Georgia Perimeter College Jaguars have gotten into the swing of things.
Winning huge games at Gordon College and against perennial powerhouse Young Harris, Middle Georgia was just another bump in the road on Thursday afternoon.
Instead of locking up the fourth position in the NJCAA Region XVII, the Warriors were sent home with a disappointing 15-0 stomping.
With 13 hits, the Jaguars (21-32 overall, 11-17 conference) exploited the pitching staff in one of the league's top teams.
But the offensive showcase was outshined by the star of the night, Georgia Perimeter starting pitcher Will Mathis.
"We had clutch hitting, (and) I mean everyone hit the ball," said Georgia Perimeter coach Danny Blue. "I can't say enough about Will; he was fantastic. He was lights out on the mound tonight, and gave us the opportunity to win."
Mathis, who is ranked No. 18 in the nation with 1.350 strikeouts per inning, pitched a gem, allowing zero runs on five hits while striking out 12.
"We got off to a good lead and that allowed me to just pitch," Mathis said. "I was throwing fastballs in every count, and was getting ahead of the batters."
While Mathis was embarrassing the Middle Georgia high-powered offense, his counterparts were doing the same to the opposing pitching.
The Jaguars got off to a quick 3-0 lead in the first when Middle Georgia starting pitcher Travis Barrett was unable to find the strike zone.
After giving up leadoff singles to Jason Dodson and Casey Young, Barrett walked back-to-back batters, allowing Dodson the free pass home. Jake Waits next drew a walk, plating Young to put the Jaguars up 2-0.
With the bases still loaded, Denver Stovall delivered a sacrifice fly to right field, plating Watson Lavigno.
In the fourth the Jaguars struck again, this time with six runs to put them up 8-0.
Starting the rally was Freeman, who began the inning with a double followed by a single by Russ Cooper. With runners on the corners, Dodson hit into what should of been a 6-4 double play; however, a bad throw to first allowed Freeman to score.
A single by Stovall and back-to-back doubles by Lavigno and Nathan Chancey brought home two more runs before Barrett balked twice, allowing Chancey to advance to third and then home.
Continuing the onslaught, Young kept the inning alive with a triple off the right field wall. Craig Sparks followed with an RBI single to give the Jaguars a 9-0 advantage.
Not to be outdone by their fourth inning performance, the Jaguars put up another six runs in the fifth inning.
After three straight walks to load the bases, Lavigno delivered an RBI single to right, making it 10-0. Georgia Perimeter received yet another gift as Barrett walked the next two batters to plate two more runs.
Following the two walks and a pitching change, Stovall came through with a two-run single to score Young and Lavigno en route to the walloping.
