MOBILE, Ala, (April 19, 2022) – The Spring Hill College (SHC) Badgers baseball team outfought the University of West Florida (UWF) Argonauts on Tuesday night for a 6-3 non-conference win at historic Stan Galle Field that gave head coach
Frank Sims his 1,000
th career victory.
SHC took a 1-0 lead over the Argonauts (20-17) in the 3
rd inning when first baseman
Grayson Williams put a 2-out double into the left field corner to plate third baseman
Cam Brock from 2
nd base.
An infield error by UWF opened the door for two more runs for the Badgers in the 4
th inning off a bases-loaded walk by Brock that was followed by a fielder's choice grounder to the right side by catcher
Daniel Seres to bring in left fielder
Luke Sweeney.
Starting pitcher
Micah Morgan (2-0) helped his own cause with a solo home run out of right field in the 5
th frame for his 15
th dinger of the year, but Argo first baseman Cullan O'Shea answered with a solo shot out at the same spot in the 6
th inning.
Morgan is now just two home runs shy of the Badger single-season record of 17 currently held by Billy Bonner in 2002. He is also just one RBI short of the SHC single-season RBI record of 66 set by Alex Jones in 2016.
Right fielder
Grant Akridge put the Badgers up 6-1 with a 2-run blast out of left in the bottom of the 6
th stanza, but UWF pinch hitter Josh Prizina put a 2-run blast of his own out of left in the 7
th inning.
Morgan went 7.0 innings, scattering six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts while
Michael Romano earned his second save of the year by sitting down the final six UWF batters in order over 2.0 innings with two strikeouts including the game-ender.
Eight UWF pitchers allowed the Badgers eight hits and one walk with nine strikeouts. Josh Pahlad (2-6) took the loss in 1.0 innings with two hits and two strikeouts.
In his 39
th season overall, Sims currently holds a 1,000-926-3 record, including a 964-916-3 mark in 38 seasons at Spring Hill.
"It's really more of a testament to the players who have been through our program over the years," Sims commented after a celebratory water cooler soaking from his team. "They have to go out and either win or lose. I appreciate every one of them for making this moment happen for me, Spring Hill College, and all these guys on the field tonight."
The Badgers (28-11) will be back at historic Stan Galle Field on Wednesday when they host historic Jesuit rival the Loyola University (La.) Wolf Pack (25-17) in a non-conference game beginning at 5 p.m.
