Box Score MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – A throwing error helped Georgia College baseball (26-17, 16-8 PBC) to take a 9-8 walk-off 11-inning victory from Columbus State University (27-17, 13-12 PBC) Friday night at John Kurtz Field.
Tied 8-8 into the bottom of the 11th inning, second baseman Seth Bancroft (Sugar Hill, Ga.) led off with a single up the middle. After a sacrifice bunt moved him to second, a flyout made it two down for catcher Benton Yaun (Marietta, Ga.). Yaun sent a pitch on the ground to deep short, and when the throw bounced past the first baseman, Bancroft came in to score the game-winner.
GC reliever Matt LaMothe (Troy, Mich.) picked up the win (4-0) throwing 2 2/3 innings, allowing a run on two hits and a walk. Cougar reliever Drew Dades (4-1) took the loss in four innings of work.
Leftfielder Josh Young (Lake Havasu City, Ariz.) was the lone multi-hit performer for GC, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. The Bobcats spread out 11 hits, as each of the nine batting slots recorded at least one safety. The teams combined for 24 hits, but just one extra-base knock –a double from Bryce Williams (Manhattan, Kan.). He finished with two RBI and a run as well.
GC jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first, but CSU chipped away at the advantage, eventually taking over with a three-run ninth for an 8-7 score.
Backs against the wall in the bottom of the ninth, first baseman Clay Ardeeser (Loganville, Ga.) walked with one out, and pinch runner Heine Rivera (Fayetteville, Ga.) promptly stole second. Williams then pulled a full-count pitch through the legs of the third baseman to left, which scored Rivera for the 8-8 tie at the end of regulation.
The Bobcats and Cougars finish the three-game set with a doubleheader tomorrow, April 21 at 1 p.m., as GC hosts Military Appreciation Day and Alumni Day at Kurtz Field.
The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 10 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at www.twitter.com/BobcatSports and www.facebook.com/gcbobcats for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit www.GCBobcats.com for more information, and to nominate your favorite former Bobcats and Colonials to the GC Athletics Hall of Fame.
