by Andrew Rochefort, sports information student

AIKEN, S.C. – Down 4-0 after the first inning, the No. 8 Georgia College Baseball Team (13-1, 9-1 PBC) rallied from behind to win 8-7 over USC Aiken (9-8, 3-8 PBC) Saturday afternoon, clinching the series win. 

In the second, after back-to-back singles, Noah Mendlinger (Alpharetta, Georgia) plated KC Brown (Rincon, Georgia) on a fielder's choice for the first Bobcat run. Runs two and three scored on an errant throw by the Pacers with two outs. Mendlinger finished the afternoon with a double, a run, and two RBIs. 

The Bobcats went right back to work in the third inning, stringing together three straight singles to start the inning, the last one off the bat of Brown to plate shortstop Cassius Young (Atlanta, Georgia) to tie the game. GC took the lead on an error and a fielder's choice that scored two more runs. Brown recorded two hits and scored twice, adding a stolen base. 

With just a one run lead, 7-6, in the sixth, Jay Saunders (Moultrie, Georgia) led off the inning with a single before junior Austin Holloway (Social Circle, Georgia) brought him in with a triple down the left field line. Saunders finished 2-for-3 with two runs, while Holloway was 2-for-5 with an RBI on the triple.

Georgia College had 12 hits on the afternoon, with five players recording two hits. Cam Hill (Marietta, Georgia) was 2-for-5 with a run, RBI, and stolen base, while Young was 2-for-3 with a run and two walks. 

Four Bobcat relievers shut the door on the Pacer offense, not allowing a hit and only one run in 5 2/3 innings pitched, adding three walks and five strikeouts.  

Sophomore Jacob Hester (Marietta, Georgia) highlighted the stellar work from the bullpen, giving up one run on zero hits or walks. The lefty had four strikeouts in four innings and earned his first victory of the season (1-0) and as a Bobcat. 

Connor Darling (Suwannee, Georgia) retired the final four batters of the game in order, including a strikeout with the bases loaded to end the eighth and preserve the 8-7 lead. The effort gave the junior his first save of the season and in his Georgia College career.  

The two teams combined for seven errors in the ballgame, which led to eight unearned runs in total. 

The Bobcats will go for the series sweep against the Pacers tomorrow, March 8 at 1 p.m. 

The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and the 2017 PBC Sportsmanship Institution of the Year, sponsors 11 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 @GCBobcats on Twitter and Facebook for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit GCBobcats.PhotoReflect.com to purchase photo prints from home athletic contests.