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COLUMBUS – Kolton Ingram nearly pitched his way into the record books on Friday night as the fifth-ranked Columbus State University baseball team took the opening game of the weekend series 7-0 against Lander. The game was played at Burger King Stadium at Ragsdale Field.
 
Ingram had nothing but zeros on the board through seven innings on Friday night. The southpaw had allowed two walks, but no hits from the Bearcats. The junior struck out the opening batter of the eighth inning, but the following batter rolled a soft groundball back through the middle to end the no-hit bid.
 
Ingram (6-0) finished the night with eight shutout innings, giving up just the one hit and matching his career high with 15 strikeouts.
 
The victory was the 13^th straight for the Cougars, moving into a tie for the third-longest streak in program history.
 
"Kolton was unhittable tonight," head coach Greg Appleton said. "He had a great breaking ball going and gained command of his fastball as the game went along and Lander couldn't hit it."
 
While Ingram was dealing on the mound, the Columbus State (19-2, 6-0 PBC) bats got rolling in the third inning.
 
Back-to-back singles from Turner Vincent and Drew Webb started the frame, and Garrett Kirkwood opened the scoring with a ringing double to right-centerfield. Mason McClellan then cashed in a RBI chance with a groundout that brought the second run across the plate.
 
Robert Brooks added to the Cougar lead with one swing leading off the sixth, hitting his fifth home run of the season.
 
CSU would keep the bats rolling in the seventh, putting three more runs on the board. McClellan singled sharply through the middle to score a run and Brooks laced one through the right side with the bases loaded to bring two more home.
 
The Cougars capped their scoring in the eighth, as Drew Webb launched a towering shot over the left field wall for his first long ball of the season.
 
Sheridan Coy came on in the ninth and finished the game for the Cougars, tossing a scoreless inning.
 
McClellan had a 3-for-4 night at the plate, driving in a pair, while Brooks was 2-for-4 with three RBIs.