MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. | Ben Hamacher and Braeden Smith fueled the Bobcat offense, each going 4-for-5 on the day, as Georgia College & State University answered back against No. 14 University of North Georgia 9-1 in a Peach Belt Conference baseball Saturday (April 26) afternoon at John Kurtz Field.
The Bobcats force a rubber match on the series, as they improved to 28-21 and 19-7 in the PBC, while the Nighthawks fell to 35-13 and 22-4. GCSU wraps up its regular season with the deciding game against North Georgia Sunday (April 27) at 1 p.m. The Bobcats will celebrate their 12 seniors prior to the game at 12:15 p.m.
The Bobcats opened their scoring with a bit of small ball in the early going, as a single from Gabe Wuerth and a throwing error allowed Hank Noonan to score, and a single from Hamacher plated another for a 2-0 lead
Jorge Arispuro cut the GCSU lead in half in the sixth, with a home run to left center. It was his fifth homer of 2025.
However, the Bobcats answered back with two runs of their own in the seventh, as Smith and Evan Cowan singled in runs to build a lead 4-1 to hand off to reliever Christian Donaldson.
Hamacher singled for his fourth hit of the night to score Noonan, before Smith hit a towering shot to right field for a 9-1 lead. It was his team leading 12th long ball of the season.
Bradley Wilson (9-1) gave up only a run in his seven innings pitched. He also stuck out five. Donaldson collected his first save, picking up where Wilson left off, and dominating the final two innings.
Of the Bobcats' 14 hits, 12 were singles, and multi-hit performances came from Hamacher and Smith. Noonan and Rand Bestermann each had a pair of knocks.
About GCSU Athletics
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for four consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won five 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.
