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By: Josh Fuller

COLUMBUS – The 13^th-ranked Columbus State University baseball team captured the program's third Peach Belt Conference regular season title on Saturday with a 20-2 victory over UNC Pembroke. The series is being held at Burger King Stadium at Ragsdale Field.
 
The championship is the first for the Cougars since 2008 and the second under head coach Greg Appleton. The win also extends CSU's winning streak to 17 games.
 
"This is an outstanding group of guys that play for each other," Appleton said. "No one is selfish on this team and I think it shows in the way we play.
 
"Obviously, this is a great accomplishment for us and we are going to celebrate it. But by no means have we accomplished our ultimate goal and we still have plenty to play for."
 
The Columbus State (39-10, 23-6 PBC) offense got all the runs it would need in the first two innings as the Cougars jumped all over UNC Pembroke. After scoring the game's first run in the first, CSU exploded for six runs in the second.
 
With runners on the corners and no outs, Lake Hart did his job, putting the ball in play for the sacrifice fly. Following a Tyler Fichter double that pushed across Justin Evans, Jackson Oliver launched a two-run blast over the right field wall to put the Cougars ahead 5-0.
 
After a walk to Ryan Ihle, Mike McClellan got into all the home run action hitting his 18th of the season to make it a 7-0 game.
 
An inning later, it was 10-0 CSU as Jackson Oliver, Ihle and McClellan all picked up RBIs.
 
With Albert Harless rolling on the hill, the Cougar offense kept adding on. In the fourth, CSU pushed across two more runs. With runners on the corners, Columbus State put pressure on UNCP's defense as Evans stole his third bag of the game. On the throw down, the ball got away allowing Blake Edwards to score. Evans scored later in the inning on a RBI groundout by Hart to make it a 12-0 Cougar lead.
 
UNC Pembroke (26-22, 12-17) got its first run of the game in the fifth on a two-out RBI hit by Nolan Pierce.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the Braves defense became shaky as two UNCP errors led to two more Cougar runs as Columbus State took a 14-1 lead.
 
CSU exploded for four more runs in the seventh. A double from Matt Nettles and an error put two Cougars on for Hart. Hart would deliver, lining a three-run homer over the right-centerfield wall. Grant Berry capped off the inning's scoring on a RBI groundout.

Both teams scored runs in the eighth with UNCP adding one while Nettles hit a two-run shot scoring CSU's 20th run of the game.
 
Oliver (3-for-5), McClellan (3-for-5), Nettles (3-for-5) and Fichter (3-for-6) all had three hits on the day. Hart was 1-for-3 with five RBIs while Oliver and McClellan added three RBIs of their own. Evans was 0-for-3, but reach base all six plate appearances scoring five runs and stealing four bases. 
 
McClellan and Ihle each extended their hitting streaks to 17 while Oliver's is now at 13.
 
Harless (6-2) had one of his best starts of the year as the righty tossed eight strong innings. He allowed just two runs while scattering eight hits. The junior punched out seven hitters with no walks. Chaz Wilson tossed a hitless ninth for the Cougars.
 
Nick Salisbury and Pierce each recorded two hits for the Braves.
 
Columbus State and UNC Pembroke will conclude the series Sunday at 1 p.m. Fans are asked to arrive early to the game for Senior Day festivities.