COLUMBUS - The No. 9 Columbus State University baseball team had to play 15 innings but was able to grind out a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader split with USC Aiken following a dramatic 5-4 victory in the nightcap at Ragsdale Field at Burger King Stadium.

Game Two (CSU 4-3/15)

USC Aiken took game one 5-2 and was one out away from a sweep in game two before Isaac Bouton launched an opposite field home run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at four.

After both bullpens kept putting up zeros on the board, it was the Cougars in the 15th who broke the deadlock without the benefit of a hit. Connor Kirley was a hit by a pitch with one out to get the rally started, while David Meadows drew a walk. With Bouton at the plate, Kirley scampered to third on a wild pitch that didn't roll too far away from USCA catcher Marcus Masetellone. Masetellone attempted to throw out Kirley at third, but the throw was errant, allowing the Cougar to slide across the plate for the winning run. 

"What a day," commented head coach Greg Appleton. "The emotional swings in that second game were something else. We needed that win bad, and somehow these guys found a way to pull one out. It doesn't mean as much if we don't come out here tomorrow, and we don't finish the job by taking the series."

Columbus State (8-3, 7-3 PBC) used the long ball to score its first four runs in game two. The Cougars were trailing 2-0 in the fifth when Kirley leadoff the frame with a five-pitch walk. Following a groundout, Robert Brooks knotted the game with one swing of the bat as the fourth-year junior launched a homer over the left-centerfield wall. 

The game would remain tied until the seventh when Jack Hannon laced a laser just over the top of the left field wall to put the Pacers back on top. 

USC Aiken made it 4-2 in the ninth after executing a suicide squeeze to push across another run. 

The Cougars made the Pacers pay for a mistake in the ninth that allowed the game to be extended. Morgan Hyde actually sat down the first three hitters of the inning, but a wild pitch on a third strike gave the Cougars a new life. Bouton would capitalize on the third pitch he saw to send the game into extras.

USC Aiken (6-8, 6-8 PBC) had a golden opportunity to score a run in the 12th after an error, an intentional walk and a walk loaded the bases against Cougar closer Brady Kais with two outs. The lefty bared down though and induced a soft comebacker to the mind to escape the trouble. 

The Cougars loaded the bases in the 14th, but a lineout and a strikeout set-up the dramatics of the 15th.

Bouton was the lone Cougar with two hits as the second-year freshman was 2-for-6 with a double to go along with his two-run homer. 

Tyler Cadenhead pitched well in his second start of the year. In the no-decision, he allowed two runs in five innings while striking out three. Noah Windhorst (4 IP, 2 ER, 6 K's), Kais (3 IP, 2 K's) and Miles Dutton (2 IP, 3 K's) all pitched multiple innings out of the pen. Zack Brockman (2-0) picked up the win after tossing a scoreless 15th. 

Hannon was 2-for-8 for the Pacers with a double and a homer. Blake Seigler was in line for the win until the comeback. He tossed 2.2 innings, allowing just one hit with three strikeouts. 

Game One (USC Aiken 5-2)

USC Aiken jumped on Cougar starter Jalen Latta early in game one with three runs in the second. James Eckert had the big blow in the frame, sending a single right up the middle with two outs to make it a 3-0 game. 

Single runs in the third and the fifth, thanks to a solo home run by Nick Tripp, gave USC Aiken a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.

It wasn't until the sixth that Columbus State scored its first run of the afternoon. Colby Brabston entered the game as a pinch-hitter with the bases full of Cougars. The second-year freshman put the ball in play and legged out an infield hit to score Bouton from third.

Columbus State brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh. With Kirley on first, Bouton rifled a double into the left-centerfield gap to score CSU's second run of the game, and Brooks followed it by getting plunked by a pitch to reach base. However, a three-pitch strikeout ended the threat.

After going down in order in the eighth, CSU failed to get anything going in its final at-bat besides a Carson Bell pinch-hit single.

Bouton had another two-hit game, going 2-for-4 with the RBI double. Four other Cougars recorded a hit in the game, including a double by Brooks.

Latta (0-1) took the loss after allowing five runs in six innings of work. Nick Watson-Garcia made his 2021 debut with a scoreless inning, while Colton Joyner tossed two innings. Joyner struck out four in the impressive stint. 

Sean McQuillan and Tripp were 3-for-5 for the Pacers. Daniel Wiggins (1-1) got the start for USCA and allowed just one run over 5.1 innings. 

UP NEXT
The two teams will play the rubber game of the three-game PBC set on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Ragsdale Field at Burger King Stadium.

COUGAR NOTES
• The 15-inning win in game two was the longest game for the Cougars since playing 18 innings against the University of West Alabama during the opening weekend of the 2010 season. 
• The game was one inning shy of tying a PBC record for the longest game between conference foes. 
• Columbus State's 12-game home winning streak was snapped following the 5-2 loss. CSU has won 17 of its last 20 games at Burger King Stadium.
• The Cougars have won their past two games in walkoff style. CSU defeated the University of West Georgia in 10 innings on Wednesday.
• Bouton has reached base in 22 straight games for the Cougars. 
• Columbus State didn't pick up an extra-inning hit in game two. 
• Bullock's 14-game hitting streak came to an end on Saturday. The senior is still hitting .326 with an OPS of 1.023 through the first 11 games this year.
• Jalen Latta surpassed the 200 inning mark in his Cougar career in game one. The lefty has logged over 203 innings in his time at CSU. 
• The Cougars had a season-low six hits in both games on Saturday.