Patriots fall short to Cougars in double-header

The FMU men’s baseball team fell 4-2 to Columbus State University in the second game of the doubleheader on April 13.

Senior catcher Alex Griffith led the team with two of the team’s five hits.

The Patriots started off rocky in the top of the first inning, loading the bases and walking one of the batters early on.

Head Coach Art Inabinet made the call to switch out pitchers. Junior catcher Christian Umphlett was subbed in for junior left-hand pitcher Josh Bobrowski.

Umphlett came out of the hut and retired three of Columbus State’s batters and had two infield fly outs.

“I was really proud of him,” Inabinet said. “He always seems to come through when we need him to.”

He pitched for five innings, which was his longest outing of the season.

“I always look at the scouting before I pitch, but Coach does a great job of preparing us and getting us locked in,” Umphlett said.

Freshman outfielder Will Hardee flew the ball far left-field and got the first single of the game in the bottom of the first.

Senior outfielder Gage Taylor swung the ball high left of center field but was stopped by the Columbus State defense.

Hardee then hit an impressive ground ball but was stopped by a defensive slide catch by Columbus State.

Senior outfielder Cole Hinnant defeated the intense defense and advanced to a scoring position on a Columbus State error.

Senior shortstop CJ Mackenson got a two-out RBI single that sent senior infielder Nick Pappas home in the bottom of the first inning.

The Patriots’ defense was effective in game two.

Columbus State’s Dane Bullock hit a ground ball to right field and advanced to first base but was quickly stopped by a smart defensive play by junior Patrick Jackson to Pappas, collecting their third out in the top of the sixth inning.

Columbus State’s batter bunted the ball, nearly making it to first base, but was stopped by a defensive decision from Umphlett, who got the ball and threw it to Jackson.

Griffith hit the ball way out of the stadium and secured the first home run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Griffith also got the third home run for the Patriots in the doubleheader, acquiring his sixth home run of the season.

Columbus State pitched several breaking balls and in-the-zone pitches and the Patriots adjusted by trying to hit the ball up center-field.

Following behind Griffith, Columbus State’s pitcher hit Pappas, allowing him to walk.

The Patriots had several solid hits in games one and two of the doubleheader. However, it was not enough to secure the win in game two.

“I think we played good baseball, but we just didn’t hit enough to win the second game,” Inabinet said.

The Patriots rank 23-17 overall and 14-12 in the Peach Belt Conference.

The Patriots’ next game will be an away game at Georgia Southwestern on April 19.