TIGERVILLE, S.C. | John Luke Glanton recorded eight strikeouts over seven innings and
Cam McNearney had three extra-base hits as Georgia College & State University opened the 2024 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional No. 2 with a 9-5 decision over No. 3 North Greenville University Thursday (May 16) evening at Ray & Bea Dillard Field at Ashmore Park.
The Bobcats, who are seeded No. 7 in the double-elimination tournament, won their seventh game in a row as they improved to 35-20. GCSU, which is making their 15th appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament, will now face No. 3 seed University of Mount Olive in a 6 p.m. second round game Friday (May 17). North Greenville, which is seeded No. 2, fell to 41-13 and they will play No. 6 seed Wingate University, which lost to Mount Olive 7-6 in the first round, in a 2 p.m. elimination game Friday (May 17).
GCSU, which is now 7-8 all-time in the opening round of the regionals, snapped a three-game losing streak to the Crusaders and now holds 11-4 edge in the all-time series.
North Greenville jumped on Glanton (11-4) for two runs in the first inning, but after that the sophomore right-handed pitcher from Metter, Georgia, settled down allowing just two hits and two runners to reach scoring position over the next six innings, while striking out seven.
The Bobcats responded with three runs - two of them unearned - in the second inning. McNearney started the two-out rally with a double to right field and
Mason Poole followed with an RBI double to right-center field.
Rand Bestermann added a single before Poole scored on a throwing error. A
Braeden Smith double to left field scored Bestermann for the final run. GCSU, which is ranked 16th in NCAA Division II statistics with 124 doubles, tallied six against the Crusaders.
After a second NGU error, McNearney added a two-run homer to left-center field to give GCSU a 5-2 lead in the third. It was McNearney's third long ball of the season. A leadoff homer to center field by Smith in the fourth inning pushed the Bobcat margin to 6-2. It was Smith's fifth homer of the campaign.
Georgia College added two runs in the sixth inning to take a 8-2 lead. Bestermann led off with a double to left-center field and later scored on a
Matthew Mebane's bases-loaded walk.
Brandon Bellflower, who had drawn a walk, came around to score on an infield single by
Mitch Cowan.
GCSU scored its final run on a RBI single by
Evan Cowan in the eighth inning to open a 9-2 lead. North Greenville got a three-run homer by David Lewis in the bottom of the ninth, but wasn't able to get any closer.
Eight of the 12 hits by the Bobcats went for extra bases. The bottom three hitters in the GCSU lineup collected seven of the 12 hits. Smith and McNearney each tallied three hits, while Poole and Bestermann added 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 theÂ
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