Dahlonega, GA - The Tigers hit the road down south for their first series of the 2024 baseball season. Salem entered a three-game series against the Nighthawks of North Georgia for their alumni weekend on Friday when they played back-to-back games before concluding their series this afternoon.

Game 1

Salem struck first on a sac fly from Mackenzie Wainwright which scored Jose Lojo to put the Tigers up 1-0. Jaryd Lund took the bump for the Tigers to start. After allowing some early traffic on the base path for the Nighthawks he was to generate some soft contact which resulted in sac flys for North Georgia. The Nighthawks brought in two runs in the bottom of the first to claim the lead over Salem. Lund remained on the mound for the Tigers into the second inning when Phillip Ard went yard for North Georgia to left center, tacking on another run to the North Georgia lead. Mackenzie Wainwright who had driven in one run for the Tigers already responded by driving in another one in the top of the 3rd. This one came on a bomb to center field which had Wainwright touching all the bases on his way home. Salem's pitching struggled throughout the remainder of the first outing against the Nighthawks, allowing nine more runs while the offense remained stagnant. The Tigers dropped their first game of the season 12-2.

Game 2

The second of this three-game series took place immediately after game one on Friday and North Georgia wasted no time getting their offense back into rhythm. In the bottom of the first inning, Riley Frost hit a sac fly for the Nighthawks which scored one for the first run of the game putting the Tigers down 1-0. In the second inning, North Georgia continued to pad their lead with a 3-run shot from Jorge Arispuro. Riley Frost wasn't done yet for the day as he followed that up with a double to left field which scored Andrews Opata and gave North Georgia a 5-0 lead. The third inning was the calm before the storm with neither team scoring. As Salem got to the top of the fourth they needed some instant offense to cut into the deficit and Tyler Shinn rose to the occasion. Shinn notched a 3-run blast of his own to cut the Nighthawk lead down to two runs and keep Salem's hopes of winning alive. Riley Frost continued to be a thorn in the Tiger's side, producing another RBI, this one off of a single, in the bottom of the fourth inning to pad the lead a little more for North Georgia. Salem got back into the game by scoring on a wild pitch in the sixth inning, but their offense could not overcome the deficit in place. The Tigers dropped the second game of the series 8-4.

Game 3

In the final game of the series against North Georgia Salem got the offense rolling early. Luis Angarita drove Jose Lojo in on an RBI single and later Tyler Shinn grounded out to the shortstop which allowed Mackenzie Wainwright to cross home plate, giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead early on. Salem continued to pile on runs in the 3rd inning courtesy of Luis Angarita who went yard to tack on another Tiger run making the Salem lead 3-0. The Nighthawks were able to erase that deficit in the bottom of the 3rd when they created traffic on the base path by getting base hit after base hit which allowed them to dissolve that 3-0 Tiger lead with the game tied 3-3 at the end of the 3rd inning. Kyle Robitzsch scored on a balk for the Nighthawks in the 6th inning to give North Georgia their first lead of the game at 4-3. Later in the 8th inning Mackenzie Wainwright came up big yet again for the Tigers with a solo shot that tied the game once again, this time at 4-4. After a scoreless top of the 9th inning, Salem looked to reliever Jhayden Raineri to try and send the game into extras. Raineri struggled with his control, walking three batters in the bottom of the ninth which led to a walk-off single for the Nighthawks from Noah Darden who sent Brady Skipper across home plate and secured the Nighthawk's third win in a row and a sweep over Salem in the Tigers season opener.

The Tigers come home next weekend for a two-game series against Walsh University (Ohio) at the Tigers home field in Nutter Fort, West Virginia. Game times are 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm on Saturday, February 17th.