WALESKA, Ga. -- On its annual Senior Day on Friday afternoon, the Reinhardt College baseball team defeated the Southern Polytechnic State University Runnin' Hornets, ranked fourth nationally in the NAIA, by the score of 2-1 before losing 9-3 in a Southern States Athletic Conference doubleheader at the Jim & Syble Boring Sports Complex.  

Following the two games, Reinhardt's four senior players -- Daniel Hester, Jarrod Willis, Brian Wallace and Robby Hearn -- were honored as part of Senior Day.

In the opening contest, all of the scoring took place in the first inning. Southern Poly got on the scoreboard first but the Eagles answered with two runs in the bottom half, and made them stand up.

Reinhardt outhit the Hornets 8-5 and made the game's four errors. SPSU left seven runners on base and the Eagles six.

Hester was 3-for-3 with a run scored for Reinhardt while Willis finished 1-for-2 with a two-run home run and walk. Brett Flick went 1-for-2 with a walk while Jeremy Roberts, Brad Blalock and Brent Martin each collected a hit.

Matt Dalton was the starting and winning pitcher for the Eagles, throwing the full seven innings. He did not allow an earned run while striking out seven batters and walking two.

Southern Poly scored twice in the top of the first inning of game two but Reinhardt trimmed the lead to 2-1 with a run in the bottom half. The guests added four runs in the third inning and another run in the fourth, taking a 7-1 advantage, before the Eagles scored twice in the fifth. The Hornets concluded the scoring with a pair of runs in the sixth inning.

SPSU had 13 hits and committed one error while the hosts finished with five hits and were guilty of three errors. Southern Poly stranded 11 base runners and Reinhardt four.

Offensively for the Eagles, Hester went 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and an RBI while freshman Michael Lonati was 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. Roberts singled and drove in a run while Flick stroked a hit and scored. Willis chipped in with a walk and run scored.

Reinhardt used six pitchers over the seven innings. Matt Carter was the starter and took the loss after 2⅓ innings of work.

The Eagles are 28-21 overall and ended 11-16 in the SSAC (sixth place) while the Hornets are 43-7 overall and finished 21-6 in conference play (second). Reinhardt will begin play in the SSAC Tournament next Wednesday at Golden Park in Columbus, Ga. The Eagles, the No. 6 seed, will face the No. 3 seeded Lee University Flames, ranked 11th in the nation, in a first-round game at 1 p.m.