Gainesville Sweeps Season Series Against the Bucks by Olivia Carpenter

Gainesville, GA

Pitching in the first inning for the Gol'Diggers Brian Zeldin, from the University of Georgia, started off the Gol'Diggers for the night, showcasing a breakneck fastball. After getting out of some trouble in the first inning, Zeldin sent Gainesville to the plate in the bottom half, and the bats got to work. Gainesville put pressure on the Brookhaven starter early and was able to get two runs on the board to give them an early lead. 

The Bucks would look to answer back in the top half of the second, putting together a short-lived rally in order to bring home a run and cut the lead in half. While Brookhaven kept the surging Gainesville bats silent in the bottom of the second, they would wake back up in the third as the offense rallied for a pair. 

Brian Zeldin finished his work for the evening after the third inning and collected four strikeouts across the frames while allowing just the one run. Pierce Juhan came on in the fourth to replace him, and the righty got into some trouble quickly. With the control not being the sharpest, Juhan allowed three men on base and a two-RBI double afterwards to put the Bucks back within one run. Juhan was able to strand a runner, but not before the tying run streaked across the plate, making the score 4-4 going to the bottom of the fourth.

But it wouldn't take long for the Gol'Diggers to strike back as Hunter Stonecipher launched an opposite-field blast, bringing home a pair and giving Gainesville a 6-4 lead. Juhan looked to have a better second inning of work, but unfortunately it wasn't the right-hander's night, as he allowed a three-run blast as the back-and-forth continued between the teams, with Brookhaven taking the lead back with a score of 7-6. Juhan was relieved shortly after as Tyler Zawacki came out of the pen next, and while the first few were shaky for the righty, he settled in after that and began dealing, putting the bats back in the hands of Gainesville. 

Gainesville looked for action in the bottom of the fifth but unfortunately stranded the bases loaded. Zawacki began the sixth with a strikeout for the Gol'Diggers and the next two outs quickly followed. In the bottom half, Gainesville officially pulled away.

Gainesville rallied for a pair, giving them a one-run lead, but the game-deciding at-bat went to Noah Darden, who drew a bases-loaded walk to put the team up 9-7. Another walk would follow, and the Gol'Diggers would end the inning with a 10-7 lead.

Going into the seventh inning, both squads were held scoreless, giving way to an eventful bottom of the eighth where Gainesville would put the final nail in the coffin. Bryce England stood in with a runner on and promptly blasted one to left field, giving the Gol'Diggers a 12-7 lead.

Zawacki was tasked with the closing job and did it well, allowing just one run across his 4⅓ innings of work, and was able to close out for the 12-8 win. Gainesville travels to Cartersville this weekend to play the Cannons as they begin the travel half of their schedule. 

Gainesville is 13-4.