COLUMBUS - Winners of 11 of its last 12, the fifth-ranked Columbus State University baseball team heads to Dahlonega, Ga. for a much-anticipated three-game Peach Belt Conference series against the University of North Georgia.

SERIES SCHEDULE (all games at Bob Stein Stadium) - BUY TICKETS HERE
Game One: Friday, April 8 - 6 p.m.
Game Two: Saturday, April 9 - 2 p.m. 
Game Three: Sunday, April 10 - 1 p.m.

CSU NOTES
• The Cougars (29-5, 13-2 PBC) are itching to get back onto the diamond following a postponement on Wednesday due to weather. CSU's last game was on Sunday, April 3, a 12-2 win to complete a three-game sweep of Georgia Southwestern University 
• CSU is now inside the top five in both the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper polls. CSU moved up a spot to fifth in the NCBWA poll while staying in third in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll
• The Cougars haven't lost a series in 2022 (9-0)
• On Monday, Devin Dudal became the only PBC player this year to be named Pitcher of the Week on back-to-back occasions. The senior struck out a career-high 14 hitters last Friday against Georgia Southwestern to pick up his PBC-leading seventh victory. He is tied for fourth in DII in victories
• Dudal is 5-0 in conference starts, with a 2.93 ERA. He has punched out 38 hitters in 30.2 innings, holding opponents to a .224 average
• The series will feature the home run leaders in the PBC as Robert Brooks and UNG's Nik Levensteins enter the weekend with 11 homers. Matthew McDade is right behind the two with 10 long-balls on the year
• Columbus State leads DII in runs (370), is second in home runs (66), fourth in walks (195) and seventh in slugging percentage (.567). On the mound, CSU is 16th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.91) and 21st in WHIP (1.34)
• CSU is 14-2 on the road this year, including winning seven in a row
• The Cougars are 19-2 since Feb. 26
• Seven Cougars are hitting .300 or above 
• The Cougars have scored 10 or more runs in 20 of their 36 games this season
• CSU has homered in 11 straight games

UNG NOTES
• The Nighthawks (23-11, 10-5) are hot as UNG enters the weekend on a season-long nine-game winning streak
• North Georgia swept Young Harris College last weekend on the road, including winning two extra-inning contests. UNG has also swept Georgia College during the winning streak
• UNG has vaulted into second in the PBC standings. UNG is three games back of the Cougars at the start of the weekend
• The Nighthawks trail only CSU in the PBC in homers (40) and ERA (4.15)
• Crews Taylor is one of the headliners in the lineup as he is hitting .347 with 11 doubles and 10 homers so far in 2022. He leads the PBC in total bases (95) and is a perfect 15-for-15 in stolen base chances 
• Levensteins (.256, 1.018 OPS) leads DII with 38 walks and paces UNG with 11 homers and 32 RBIs
• Cade Heil (4-3, 3.69 ERA), Pierce Williams (3-2, 3.51 ERA) and Jay Pendly (3-1, 5.77 ERA) have been the weekend starters for UNG. Williams leads the team with 45 strikeouts in 51.1 innings
• Jake Arnold (25.1 IP, 1.07 ERA) and Beau Jones (13.2, 1.32 ERA) have been excellent out of the bullpen

SERIES HISTORY
• Columbus State leads the series 28-21 over North Georgia since the Nighthawks joined the NCAA in 2006
• The Cougars have won four straight in the series, including an impressive two-game stint in Dahlonega, Ga. for the 2021 PBC Championship series. CSU scored 40 runs over two games to win the program's sixth PBC tournament title