>>>Head
coach Tom Carty Post-game
>>>Pitcher Brendon Malkowski
Post-game
FLORENCE, S.C. – The No.
3-seed and No. 9-ranked Georgia College & State University
baseball team (38-15) used stellar defense, solid pitching and
timely hitting to get past No. 2-seed and No. 4-ranked Columbus
State University (44-12) 5-3 Saturday, day three of the NCAA
Division II Southeast Regional Championship Tournament.
The Bobcats advance to Sunday, playing No. 1-seed and No.
6-ranked Francis Marion University at 1 p.m. should Georgia College
win again, it will advance to the World Series for the first time
since 1995. If the Bobcats lose, they play FMU again at 4 p.m. with
the winner of that game taking the region title and World Series
bid.
The victory over CSU tonight makes the Bobcats 5-0 against the
Cougars this season, including two wins in the last two days at
this region tournament.
Defense got the Bobcats out of a few sticky situations today, as
a diving effort combined with a backhand toss by shortstop Chandler Snell
(Loganville, Ga.) started a double play with two on in the
fifth. Then, with a runner on first in the sixth, centerfielder
Sean
Harrell (Martinez, Ga.) leapt above the fence to pull
back a home run off the bat of Wes Adkins that would have cut the
Bobcat lead to one.
“When you go about building a team, you want to be strong
defensively up the middle,” said head coach Tom
Carty. “Chandler is a guy that is a four-year
starter that really raises his game on the tough plays and in the
big games. (Second baseman Jason Veyna
(Lamar, Colo.)) has been a great compliment to him
all year at second. Sean Harrell robbed a home run that was huge
and made all the difference as we could still be playing right
now.”
The Bobcats got another solid start from its pitching staff
tonight, as junior righty Eric Pettepher
(Gordon, Ga.) went 6 1/3 innings fanning three and
allowing just three runs on 10 hits. Senior righty Brendon
Malkowski (Schenectady, N.Y.) entered in the seventh
with one out, tossing the final 2.2 scoreless for his second save.
He struck out four and surrendered just one hit, retiring Peach
Belt Conference (PBC) Player of the Year Jason Rogers twice with
runners on base.
“I just wanted to get the ball downhill, get ahead of
hitters and close things out,” said Malkowski. “The
team played so well tonight I didn't want to let them
down.”
The Bobcats struck first in the first, when Kyle Allen (Conyers,
Ga.) doubled and scored after a couple of productive
groundouts. In the second, the 'Cats plated three more when catcher
Richard
Pirkle (Norcross, Ga.) tripled home first baseman
Matt
Pitts (Brunswick, Ga.) and designated hitter
Benton
Yaun (Marietta, Ga.), who both reached on singles.
Another groundout later, Pirkle scored to make it a 4-0 Bobcat
lead.
After two runs for CSU in the fifth on RBI singles by Alex
Montes and Rogers, Georgia College got one back on an RBI single by
rightfielder Shawn Ward (Marietta,
Ga.). The Cougars got another run in the seventh on an RBI
single from leftfielder Ryan Lewis, but could inch no closer thanks
to the closing fastball of Malkowski.
Pitts finished 2-for-4 with a run, while Pirkle went 1-for-3,
driving in a pair and scoring once. Leadoff hitter Allen scored
twice on a 1-for-3 day.
CSU starter David Lane (6-2) couldn't get out of the second
inning in the loss. The Cougars' top hitter was leadoff man and
centerfielder Montes, going 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI.
The GCSU Department of Athletics, winners of the 2008-09 PBC
Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 10 varsity athletic programs at the
NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Georgia College
prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete,
evidenced by the Bobcats' multiple appearances in post-season
competition as well as documented academic success and
community-service involvement. Sign up at Twitter.com username
GCSUSID for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit www.GCSUBobcats.com
to nominate your favorite former Bobcats and Colonials to the GCSU
Athletics Hall of Fame.
