DAHLONEGA, Ga. | Georgia College & State University scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to rally for a 9-7 Peach Belt Conference baseball win over the University of North Georgia Saturday (April 27) afternoon at Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park.
The Bobcats improved to 28-19 overall and to 18-8 in the PBC, while the Nighthawks fell to 28-17 and 13-10. With the victory, GCSU secures the No. 2 seed in next week's conference tournament and will host four teams in a double-elimination bracket at John Kurtz Field. The teams play the final game of the series Sunday (April 28) at 1 p.m.
GCSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a two-run homer to right field by
Matthew Mebane. It was his XX homer of the season.
After UNG tied the game at 2, the Bobcats reclaimed the lead an inning later as
Rand Bestermann clubbed a three-run homer to left-center field to give Georgia College a 5-2 lead. It was Bestermann's third long ball in the past two games.
Mason Poole scored on a wild pitch in the fourth to give GCSU a 6-4 lead. It would stay that way until the bottom of the eighth as the Nighthawks scored three times to take a 7-6 lead.
Evan Cowan tied the game at 7 in the ninth on is RBI double to right-center field.
Cam McNearney followed with a two-run double to left-center to give the Bobcats a 9-7 advantage.
Lex Kenny (4-2) earned the win with 3.1 innings of relief, while
John Raines pitched a scoreless ninth inning to claim his third save.
GCSU collected 14 hits in the win with Mebane and Poole leading the way with three each. Cowan and McNearney posted two hits apiece.
About GCSU AthleticsÂ
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for three consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won four consecutive Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and four-time winners of the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in postseason competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports or subscribe to the GSCU Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with GCSU Athletics.
