MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. | Tanner Patterson drove in five runs and Luke Boone added three more as Georgia College & State University completed the sweep of its three-game Peach Belt Conference baseball series over the University of South Carolina-Beaufort at John Kurtz Field Sunday (March 1) afternoon with a 15-5 victory in seven innings.

GCSU improved to 5-12 overall and to 4-5 in the Peach Belt, while the Sand Sharks sank to 4-12 and winless in nine league contest. GCSU steps out of conference play with a 2 p.m. contest Tuesday (March 3) against Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina.

USCB struck first with a run in its first at-bat before Boone tied the game at 1 with a single up the middle in the bottom of the frame. GCSU added four more runs in the second on a two-run single up the middle from Blake Bellflower and Boone contributed a two-run single through the left side.

USC Beaufort tied the game at 5 in the top of the third on Nico Barcelo's grand slam to left field - the Sand Sharks' lone extra-base hit of the series, but again the Bobcats had an answer in their half of the frame as Patterson had RBI single up the middle.

The Bobcats added an insurance run in the fourth on Carson Phillips' double to right-center field.

GCSU broke the game wide up with a seven-run sixth inning to open up a 14-5 advantage. Cole Huddleston had a two-run single through the right side in front of Patterson's three-run blast to right center. It was Patterson's first long ball of 2026. Vick contributed an RBI single to left.

The Bobcats closed the game out early in the seventh as Patterson singled to right field with the bases loaded.

GCSu clubbed 13 hits with Patterson leading the way. Vick, Boone, Phillips and Huddleston had two each.

Owen Thomas (1-0) earned the win with four strikeouts over 4.1 innings, while Caden Tillman earned his first save of the season with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.
   

About GCSU Athletics 
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for five consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won six 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. 
  Read Full Article