DAHLONEGA, Ga. - Columbus State Baseball delivered a dramatic and resilient performance on Saturday in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament, winning a pair of games at Bob Stein Stadium in Dahlonega, Ga.
The Cougars (29-20) opened the day by finishing yesterday's rain-suspended game against Georgia Southwestern with a walk-off, 12-inning victory. Immediately following, CSU returned to the field and rode a dominant pitching effort to a 6-1 win over Augusta, securing its spot in the next round of the tournament.
Game 1: Columbus 5, Georgia Southwestern 4 (12 Innings)
After a lengthy rain delay which eventually suspended the game in the bottom of the third inning on Friday night, Columbus State returned Saturday morning to resume the contest against the 'Canes. The Cougars delivered a dramatic 12-inning walk-off victory over GSW to open the tournament.
Friday's portion began with three scoreless innings before the pause. GSW opened with a run in the fourth and fifth innings before CSU managed to level with an RBI single from
Luke Miller and a run scored on wild pitch to close the fifth. A solo homer from Miller in the seventh gave the Cougars a 3-2 advantage, but the Hurricanes would go on to equalize in the eighth.
Both teams would then remain in a stalemate until the 12th inning as a one-run shot over the wall lifted GSW to a 4-3 lead. Miller stepped up in the bottom half of the frame with a massive two-run blast to right field to slam the door shut in walk-off fashion for the 5-4 victory.
Trace Goforth tossed for eight innings and gave up seven hits and three earned runs on a walk and four strikeouts.
Bailey Thorne (5-2) earned the win on the mound, pitching for four innings and striking out three batters in the process, allowing one earned run on two hits.
Inside the Numbers
- Miller finished with three hits which included two homers, adding four RBIs, and three runs.
- Cody Ferguson added three hits followed by a base hit from both Ian King and Warrick Wilmot.
- GSW led 9-8 in total hits with both earning two extra base hits.
- The CSU pitching corps totaled seven strikeouts across 12 innings.
Game 2: Columbus State 6, Augusta 1
Columbus State carried the momentum into the second contest, defeating Augusta 6-1 to advance to Sunday's bracket finale.
The Cougars pounced early for four runs in the second inning and remained in control the rest of the way. CSU took advantage of four Jaguar errors and totaled nine hits, which included a pair of doubles from
Cayden Evans.
In the second, the Cougars scored on a wild pitch and pushed three home on a double from Evans for the 4-0 advantage. After a scoreless third, CSU added a fifth run with an RBI single from Evans.
Augusta managed to respond in the fifth with a sacrifice fly to knock down the deficit by one. Fortunately, Wilmot drove in a sixth run in the seventh to further cushion the lead. CSU took care of business in the eighth and ninth innings to seal the game 6-1.
Eric Moore pitched six strong innings, allowing one unearned run on five hits while striking out five.
Tucker Starling closed the final three innings to pick up the save with two strikeouts and allowing three hits.
Inside the Numbers
- Evans sparked the CSU offense with three of the team's nine hits, driving four runs in which included a pair of doubles.
- Wilmot followed with a pair of hits and an RBI.
- Four other individuals notched a hit each.
- The duo on the mound combined for seven total strikeouts, giving up a total of eight hits.
Inside the Numbers
- Columbus State will first await the winner of the North Georgia and Georgia Southwestern game. The winner of that contest will face Augusta, with the winner of the game facing CSU tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET in Dahlonega.
