The University of West Georgia baseball team got the tying run within 90 feet of the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, but as was the case for most of the game, the Wolves’ bats went cold en route to a 3-2 home loss to North Georgia College and State University on Thursday evening at Cole Field.

West Georgia (2-2) got just four hits on the day and wasted a strong outing from starter Max Aeschlimann (1-1), who worked seven innings, yielding three runs — two earned — on eight hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

North Georgia (5-2) got on the board in the top of the first to take an early 1-0 lead, but UWG senior first baseman Andy Marinelli canceled that out with a solo blast in the bottom half of the frame to even things up at 1-1.

The Saints took a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth, scoring two runs on three hits, but the Wolves got a run back in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI double by third baseman Garrett May to pull within 3-2.

Neither team could produce a run after that, as the Saints got 5.1 innings of one-hit, shutout relief from their bullpen trio of Jacob Beauchamp, Reese Patten and Matt Smith.

West Georgia didn’t get a hit during the final four innings of the game, but threatened in the bottom of the ninth when senior second baseman Stuart Drew walked with one out, stole second and advanced to third on a groundout. Smith induced a flyout to center to end the game, though, earning his first save on the season.

Drew, Marinelli, May and Dylan Coleman accounted for UWG’s four hits, while center fielder Terrell Jones was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk for the Saints and first baseman Matthew Black went 2-for-4 for North Georgia.

West Georgia returns to action on Saturday when it plays host to Tiffin (Ohio) in a noon doubleheader.