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By:
Josh Fuller
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The 28
th-ranked Columbus State University baseball team fell 8-7 to 29
th-ranked Georgia College in the rubber game of a three-game Peach Belt Conference series Sunday. The game took place at Kurtz Field in Milledgeville.
The two teams combined to record 28 hits on the way to the 15 runs in the game.
"This was a slugfest today and we just came out on the wrong side of it," said head coach
Greg Appleton. "We have to shore up some of our pitching problems because seven runs are enough to win a game. Give Georgia College credit this weekend, it was a very hard fought series."
Columbus State (20-13, 11-7 PBC) got on the board quickly as
Justin Evans doubled home
Tyler Fichter, who led off the game with a single. After a strikeout, it was 2-0 with
Lake Hart picking up a RBI single.
The Cougars did miss out on scoring chances in the second and third. In the second, CSU stranded a runner on third, while in the third the Cougars had runners on the corners when the inning ended.
However in the fourth, CSU got another quick run.
Bryce Delevie singled to begin things with
Drew Webb following with a double down the left field line to make it 3-0.
Cougar starter
Luke Porter breezed into the fourth. Porter allowed just two hits through the first three innings until Georgia College got four runs in the fourth. GC sent eight hitters to the plate on its way to taking the 4-3 lead.
Columbus State had an answer in the fifth to tie the game. After Fichter doubled to begin the frame,
Mason McClellan sent a single to center to plate Fichter.
The Bobcats came right back to take the lead in the fifth. With a runner on first, the Bobcats got a two-run homer to move in front 6-4. GC quickly put more base runners on before a double pushed the lead to 7-4.
The long ball went in the Cougars' favor in the sixth. CSU got another leadoff double, this time from
Turner Vincent, to set the table, however, the next two batters would groundout.
Grant Berry then came up with a clutch two-out homer to centerfield to make it a one-run game.
Gunar Drinnen followed with a home run of his own to tie the game at seven.
The game would stay tied until the seventh when GC took the lead. After
Perez Knowles allowed a one-out single, a double made it 8-7.
The Cougars put two runners on in the eighth and one in the ninth, but were unable to plate the tying run.
Fichter went 3-for-5 for CSU with a double while Delevie added a 3-for-4 performance as well. Berry was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and two walks.
Porter allowed seven runs in the five-inning outing. He allowed 12 hits while striking out one. Knowles (3-3) took the loss allowing one run in three innings.
Columbus State will be back in action on Wednesday, April 5 against Tuskegee. The game will be at 4 p.m. in Montgomery, Ala.
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