GREENWOOD, S.C. – The Georgia College Baseball team (15-14, 13-13 PBC) split a doubleheader at Lander University (16-16, 12-14 PBC) Saturday, falling in the first game 6-2 before rebounding with a 14-7 in in game two.

A five-run seventh for the Bearcats decided game one. During that inning, Lander rattled off seven hits, sending 10 batters to the plate. The big blow was a two-run triple from Bo Richey.

Lefty starter Jacob Hester (Marietta, Georgia) was sharp, eating up much-needed innings for the GC pitching staff. He went 6 1/3 innings in the loss (0-2), fanning eight and not walking a single batter. Over the first six innings he allowed just a single run and scattered five hits.

The Bobcats were held to just seven hits in game one, with shortstop Cassius Young (Atlanta, Georgia) and first baseman Brandon Bellflower (Milledgeville, Georgia) each going 2-for-4.

In game two, GC provided the big offensive effort. The Bobcats trailed 7-3 heading into the sixth, but Young smacked a double for two runs in the sixth, GC got two more in the seventh, and then exploded for a seven-run eighth to take over. In that massive seven-run inning, the Bobcats tallied five hits including two home runs to bookend the scoring.

Centerfielder Cam Hill (Marietta, Georgia) got the scoring started in the inning with a two-run blast to left, and second baseman Cal Gentry (Perry, Georgia) capped the inning with a three-run shot to right.

Reliever Ashton Sturgell (Evans, Georgia) spun the final four innings scoreless, scattering two hits and fanning seven while not walking a batter. Sturgell (4-0) set them down in order in two of the four innings, including striking out the side in the eighth.

Young finished game two 4-for-5 with three RBIs and a run. Bellflower was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Third baseman Noah Mendlinger (Alpharetta, Georgia) added his own 2-for-4 game with a run and RBI, and Hill had two hits in six trips, two RBIs and a run. The home run for Hill was his fourth this season and fifth in his career. For Gentry, he now has five round-trippers this year and 13 in his career.

The split puts the Bobcats at 13-13 in Peach Belt Conference (PBC) play, positioned seventh in the league standings. GC is five games out of the top four, and the top four teams qualify for the PBC Tournament beginning May 7.

The Bobcats are back in action Tuesday, April 13 at 6:30 p.m., taking on USC Aiken in non-conference play. The game will be held at SRP Park in Augusta, Georgia.

The Georgia College Department of Athletics is proud to receive the 2020 NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence. The two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner Cup and the former PBC Sportsmanship Institution of the Year, GC Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on Graduating Champions For Life. Sign up at @GCBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit GCBobcats.PhotoReflect.com to purchase photo prints from home athletic contests.