DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia baseball program has a number of players competing in official summer baseball leagues around the country this summer. After another winning season at Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park, the Nighthawks continue to represent the "NG" with success in the summer.
The Coastal Plain League features a number of big names from North Georgia's 2024 season. The wood-bat summer league which primarily features teams from the Carolinas with a few teams hailing from Georgia and Virginia is home to three Nighthawks this year and a future Nighthawk..
Redshirt junior pitcher Pierce Williams, redshirt sophom*ore first baseman Phillip Ard and sophom*ore center fielder Andrews Opata are all currently in the CPL. Williams and Opata are teammates together on the Holly Springs Salamanders and they each dominate the statistical categories for their teams.
Of all pitchers with two or more starts, Williams, who has started six games, leads the team with a 2.43 earned run average in 29.2 innings pitched which ranks second on the team. The lefty hurler has struck out 39 batters and walked just 15 while allowing opponents to hit just .223 against him. Meanwhile at the plate, Opata is hitting .238 in 80 at bats and leads the team with four home runs this summer. His 15 RBI rank third on the team and only four of his teammates have a higher on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) this year.
Over on the Lexington County Blowfish, Ard has been crushing the ball as well. The 2024 Peach Belt Conference All-Conference First Team selection leads the Blowfish with five home runs on the year. He's chipped in 16 RBI while hitting .253 overall. His .905 OPS is second on the team which holds a 22-19 record this summer.
The fourth Nighthawk competing in the CPL is a future 'Hawk in transfer right-handed pitcher Ryan Taylor. Taylor joins UNG after two seasons at Gordon State College, a junior college in Barnesville, Ga. The righty pitcher only joined the CPL in July and has made a pair of starts for Macon Bacon already. In 6.1 innings, he's allowed four earned runs while striking out five batters. At GSC, Taylor led the Highlanders with 61.1 innings of work and 51 strikeouts last year.
Another quartet of Nighthawks are competing in the Old North State League, a North Carolina based summer league.
On the Brunswick Surfin' Turfs, freshman right-handed pitcher Nick Randall has himself a fantastic summer. The Toccoa, Ga. native was named an ONSL All-Star having led his team with a 2.89 ERA in 18.2 innings this year. He's struck out 23 batters while only having walked 14 and his 1.607 WHIP is second on the roster. Only one player on his team has 15 or more innings pitched while allowing less hits per nine innings than Randall this summer.
Freshman catcher Kyle Robitzsch had a big summer in his time with the Surfin' Turfs as well. He joined Randall on the All-Star team after hitting .325 at the plate with seven doubles. While Robitzsch suited up in the catcher's gear most of last season for UNG, he did get some infield reps out of necessity after multiple injuries to his fellow teammates. In summer ball he's continued to gain infield experience while also getting back to his roots behind the plate.
Freshman pitcher/infielder Ben Hays red shirted last season for head coach Tom Cantrell, but he's currently having a big summer in the ONSL with the New Bern Southpaws. At the plate, Hays has been a key contributor for New Bern hitting .320 in 50 at bats with a pair of home runs and four doubles. Of the players with 50 or more at bats on his team, Hays leads the team in slugging percentage at .520 while ranking second in batting average (.320), on-base percentage (.455) and OPS (.975). However, he's also pitched the fifth most innings of anyone on his team, holding a 3.27 ERA in 22 innings of work on the mound. He's allowed just 18 hits and eight earned runs on the bump this summer.
Finally in the ONSL, Middle Tennessee State transfer Luke Earnhardt has been suiting up for the Hendersonville Honeycrisps this year. The left-handed pitcher has thrown 20 innings and holds a stellar 2.70 ERA with 22 strikeouts. All three marks rank second on his team while he also ranks second in walks allowed (12), runs/earned runs allowed (nine/six) and WHIP (1.35).
Heading up north one will find four Nighthawks competing in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League and the Northwoods League.
All alone in the GLSCL is sophom*ore outfielder Edwin Bowman IV with the Grand Lake Mariners. The Suwanee, Ga. native is hitting .237 in 93 at bats with the Mariners. He's top-5 on the team in hits (22), RBI (eight) and doubles (three).
The furthest from home in the Northwoods League are juniors Riley Frost and Bryson Stripling along with sophom*ore right-handed pitcher Matthew Heard. Frost currently plays for the Royal Oak Leprechauns in Royal Oak, Mich. In 264 at bats he's hitting .207 with 25 RBI. His 31 walks ranks second on the team. He's also scored 19 runs and stolen seven bases for the Leprechauns.
A whopping 957 miles from Dahlonega playing for the Wisconsin Rapid Rafters in the Northwoods League are Stripling and Heard. Stripling, a junior catcher for UNG, has totaled six RBI in 14 games this year. In 40 plate appearances he's worked eight walks as well. Heard has utilized a 4.50 ERA in 24 innings to help his team battle to a 26-26 record thus far. With 19 strikeouts and just four walks conceded, his 4.8 K:BB ratio leads the team.
Finally, close to home in the Sunbelt Baseball League are two more incoming transfers in sophom*ore right-handed pitcher Avery Brown and redshirt sophom*ore infielder Tyler Triche.
Brown has been suiting up for perhaps the best named team among all the funniest, silliest names in collegiate summer ball, the Choccolocco Monsters. Brown, who will join UNG for the 2025 season, comes from the University of North Alabama where he completed his first two collegiate seasons with the Lions. In the SBL, he's held a stifling 1.76 ERA in 15.1 innings of work. He's completely mowed down opposing lineups this summer, striking out 21 batters while allowing just three walks and 10 hits in total to the opposition. Of pitchers on the Monsters with 15 or more innings pitched this year, Brown's .189 opposing batting average leads them all.
Triche has become a Nighthawk after departing Georgia Southern where he remained for two seasons, red shirting in 2023. With the Gainesville Gol' Diggers, Triche is hitting .250 in 36 at bats on the season. In just 12 games he's already racked up seven RBI and six walks while also belting his first summer league home run back on June 3.
While it may be awhile before UNG baseball resumes in Dahlonega, the Nighthawks are still making fans proud with some outstanding performances in the world of college summer baseball.
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