COLUMBIA, Ky. – The Lindsey Wilson baseball team dropped the first two games of this weekend's three-game series against No. 2-ranked Georgia Gwinnett on Saturday at Egnew Park. 

The Blue Raiders (6-7) dropped game one 8-2 and fell 16-9 in game two.

GAME ONE: Lindsey Wilson 2 v. Georgia Gwinnett 8 (7 Innings)

Lindsey Wilson's game one starter Easton Talley pitched four innings, throwing 71 pitches, giving up three runs on five hits, walking three, and striking out two. Georgia Gwinnett's starting pitcher, Peyton Castellow, pitched 3 ? innings, throwing 69 pitches, allowing two runs on six hits, walking three, and striking out four. Peyton Watts, Jay O'Neill, and Jackson Legg each had three hits for the Grizzlies in game one, while Trey Smith had three RBIs. Caden Davis and Orion Hahm-Taklander each recorded two hits for the Blue Raiders, while Keith Stewart drove in both RBIs. 

The Blue Raiders struck first in the bottom of the first inning when Stewart hit a two-run home run, his second home run of the season, giving Lindsey Wilson the early 2-0 lead. Georgia Gwinnett cut the lead in half in the top of the second courtesy of a sacrifice fly by Lance Bratlein, allowing O'Neill to score. The Grizzlies took the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Wilbert Espinal led off the inning with a double. O'Neill drove in Espinal to tie the game at two. O'Neill was erased when Bratlein grounded into a double play. However, a two-out walk by Grant Pohlman and a wild pitch allowed Legg to drive in Pohlman with an RBI single. This proved to be all the Grizzlies needed. A three-run home run by Trey Smith in the fifth inning made the game 6-2, and two more insurance runs in the sixth made the score 8-2. Lindsey Wilson threatened but failed to score the rest of the game. 

GAME TWO: Lindsey Wilson 9 v. Georgia Gwinnett  16

Lindsey Wilson's game two starter, Cassian Bartholomew received the loss, bringing his record to 1-1 on the young season. Bartholomew threw 4 ? innings, throwing 66 pitches, allowing seven runs on eight hits, walking one, and striking out one. The Grizzlies' game two starter James Sells lasted only 1 ? innings, throwing 38 pitches, allowing five runs (two earned) on four hits, walking two, and striking out one. Smith and Bratlein both tallied three hits for the Grizzlies in game two, with Smith recording three RBIs and Bratlein driving in four RBIs. Bryce Sidler led the Blue Raiders with two hits in game two, while Stewart had a team-high three RBIs. 

Georgia Gwinnett got the scoring started when Smith had a two-run home run to right field, giving the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead. In the top of the second, JJ Garcia doubled home Bratlein to make the score 3-0. Lindsey Wilson scored four runs in the bottom of the second, giving them a 5-3 lead. Hahm-Taklander had an RBI double, followed by an RBI single by Amir Pineiro, Sidler reached on an error by the first baseman, and both Andres Duran and Stewart recorded bases-loaded walks. Georgia Gwinnett tied the game in the fourth inning courtesy of a Payton Fort RBI single, allowing Garcia to score. In the bottom half of the fourth inning, Keith Stewart connected for his second two-run home run of the day, third of the season, bringing home Sidler, giving the Blue Raiders a 7-5 lead. In the following three innings, the Grizzlies scored 10 unanswered runs, highlighted by home runs by Fort, Bratlein, and Espinal. Lindsey Wilson added single runs in the seventh and ninth innings, but ultimately fell by a score of 16-9. 

The series finale on Sunday is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CT at Egnew Park. Live stats and video are available on the Lindsey Wilson Athletics website.