Union Co. baseball team splits doubleheader with Banks Co.

After dropping the first game 14-1 on Saturday, Feb. 29, the Union Co. baseball squad rallied to earn a 3-2 win against Banks Co. and split the doubleheader in Blairsville.

Union Co. senior John Mancuso moves on defense in recent action for the Panthers.

The Panthers (3-5, 1-1 Region 8-AA) were led by senior John Mancuso at the plate and junior Isaak Mullinack on the mound in game two.

Mancuso went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a double. The double came with the game tied at two in the bottom of the sixth inning.

With senior Matthew Kelley standing on first base after a line-drive single with two outs, Mancuso hit the first pitch he saw deep into centerfield, driving in Kelley and putting the Panthers into the lead for good.

Union Co. was losing 2-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth. Senior Cayden Rich earned a walk to start the inning before a sacrifice from senior Alec Youngblood pushed Rich to third base.

Rich then scored on a sacrifice to second base by junior Hunter Loyd to tie the game at 2-2 and set up the go-ahead run.

Rich finished with two walks and a run scored, Loyd added the RBI, and Kelley went 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Union Co. junior Isaak Mullinack fires a pitch in recent action for the Panthers.

Mullinack threw four innings on the mound, giving up six hits, one earned run, and striking out two.

Junior Zeke Swartz threw two innings of middle relief for the Panthers, giving up two hits, one run, and striking out one.

Rich got the save, throwing the top of the seventh and surrendering just one hit, while striking out two.

The win was much needed for the Panthers after getting hammered in game one. Banks Co. (6-4, 1-1 Region 8-AA) scored four in the first and never looked back in the route of Union Co.

In that game, senior Carter Wright went 2-for-3 as the only Panthers player with a multi-hit game. Junior Austin Garrison and Youngblood each added a hit, with Youngblood accounting for the team’s only RBI in the game.

Sophomore Thomas Dyer added a run scored and a stolen base in the loss for Union Co.

The Panthers hit the road for their next game, a 6 p.m. visit to Commerce on Tuesday, March 3. Union Co. wraps up the week with a home doubleheader against Social Circle on Friday, March 6, beginning at 5 p.m. in Blairsville.

James Wolfe