COLUMBUS - Colton Joyner and Peyton Burton combined to limit Quincy University to one run as the No. 8 Columbus State University baseball team claimed a 6-1 win over the Hawks in the fourth and final game of a non-conference series at Burger King Stadium.

Joyner (2-0) got the nod and tossed five innings of one-run ball to pick up his second win of the season. He struck out a season-high five hitters while also matching a season-high in innings. Burton was equally impressive, throwing four scoreless innings for his second save of the year. The sophomore only allowed two hits in his longest outing of the year.

"I was impressed with the guys on the mound today," commented head coach Greg Appleton. "We had some good defensive plays in key points, but we pitched well overall. This was a good way to wrap up the weekend against a talented lineup."

After a great outfield assist by Derek Wylie in the top of the second, the Cougars (13-3) platted the first run of the game in the second. With one out, back-to-back singles by David Meadows and Will Wilbanks put runners on the corners for before-mentioned Wylie. Wylie would lift a sacrifice fly to center to put the Cougars on the board. 

CSU added on in the third as two runners were on with two outs with Steven Minter at the plate. Minter laced the first pitch he saw from Jay Hammel down the left-field line to score Isaac Bouton. 

Joyner continued to roll, picking up two strikeouts in the fourth before Matthew McDade launched his fourth homer of the series in the bottom of the frame to push CSU's margin to 3-0.

Quincy (3-4) threatened for a big inning in the fifth following a leadoff walk and a single. Joyner got the next two hitters to fly out, but Dawson Croes found a hole for a two-out single to make it a 3-1 game. Joyner managed to escape the jam without any more damage.

Columbus State wasted no time getting the run back as a two-out double by Wilbanks increased the margin back to three in the bottom of the fifth.

Burton entered the game in the sixth and worked himself in and out of a jam. The Hawks had two runners on with one out, but Burton struck out Tyler Carpenter and got Tanner Dreher to ground into a fielder's choice to keep it a 4-1 game.

Columbus State got two more insurance runs to grab a comfortable 6-1 lead in the sixth. With Connor Kirley at first, Win Johns placed a single through the right side of the infield to put runners on the corners for the  Robert Brooks. The graduate senior beat the outfield shift, hitting an opposite-field two-run triple down the right-field line to put the game out of reach.  

Burton didn't allow a hit over his final three innings, including posting a 1-2-3 frame in the ninth to close out the game.

Brooks (2-for-3) scored a run to go along with his two RBIs, while Wilbanks was 2-for-4 with a run batted in. 

Croes was 3-for-4 with a double and a RBI for Quincy.

Hammel (0-3) was hit with the loss after allowing four runs in 4.1 innings. Eli Ecton tossed the final 3.2 innings for the Hawks, allowing two runs on three hits. He did punch out five hitters.

UP NEXT
Columbus State will travel for a mid-week game at Tuskegee University on Wednesday, March 2. First pitch is at 4 p.m. 

COUGAR NOTES
• Columbus State has won 13 straight home series dating back to the 2019 season
• McDade closed out the week with five homers and 10 RBIs for the Cougars. Overall, the junior was 8-for-18 at the plate and scored seven times
• CSU improves to 5-0 on Sundays in 2022
• Brooks now has five triples in his career. The catcher has driven in 32 this season and entered the weekend as the nation's leader in RBIs. 
• Burton leads the team with a 0.83 WHIP (min. 10 innings). The sophomore has a 1.35 ERA in 13.1 innings and leads the team with two saves