COLUMBUS - Cade Heil tossed a complete-game shutout as No. 22 North Georgia defeated the No. 24 Columbus State University 4-0 in the opening game of a Peach Belt Conference series at Burger King Stadium on Friday night.

Heil kept the Cougars (12-8, 10-8 PBC) off-balance all night, allowing just five hits in the effort. 

"We just got to find ways to put some runners on," commented head coach Greg Appleton. "You have to give credit to their guy tonight, but we are going to have to bring our intensity for two important games tomorrow."

Heil and Cougar starter Jalen Latta had their A-stuff working early as both hurlers threw up zeros over the first three innings. Latta ran into trouble in the fourth when two singles and a hit batsman loaded the bases for UNG with no outs on the board. Nic Levensteins chased home the first run of the game with a single before a sacrifice fly made it 2-0. 

Columbus State had one of its better scoring opportunities in its half of the fourth as Isaac Bouton led off the inning with a double down the left field line. After a flyout moved him to third, Bouton attempted to score on a comeback chopper off the bat of Steven Minter later in the, however Heil made a great play to cut the Cougar down at the plate. 

North Georgia (21-7, 19-6) added two more runs in the seventh on back-to-back RBI singles to up the lead 4-0.

Heil stranded two more Cougars in the seventh after surrendering a one-out single by Dane Bullock and hitting Colby Brabston. A fielder's choice and a strikeout ended CSU's threat.

Bouton (1-for-4) had Columbus State's only extra-base hit on the day, while four others picked up a hit. 

Latta (1-3) took the loss, despite throwing well. The lefty allowed four runs on eight hits and four walks. Devin Dudal tossed 2.1 scoreless innings in relief, picking up five strikeouts. 

Bill LeRoy, Brady Eeles and Levensteins all had two hits for the Nighthawks.

UP NEXT
Columbus State and North Georgia wrap up the series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. at Burger King Stadium. The first 50 fans through the gates will receive a free meal and drink coupon from Newk's Eatery.  

Cougar Notes
• Latta reached two milestones on Friday. With his second strikeout of the night, the Columbus native moved into 10th place all-time in program history in strikeouts. He now has 209 in his Cougar career. It was also his 30th start for Columbus State on the mound.
• Bouton extended his on-base streak to 31 games with his double in the fourth.
• David Meadow's streak was snapped at 15.
• The five hits were a season-low for the Cougars.
• It was the first time in four games that CSU failed to hit a homer.
• Columbus State hadn't been kept scoreless at Burger King Stadium since March 23, 2019, when falling 11-0 to USC Aiken.