GREENWOOD, S.C. – Columbus State Cougars Baseball (30-23, 17-10 PBC) was defeated by the Lander Bearcats (42-13, 23-4 PBC) 8-3 in game two of the Peach Belt Conference Baseball Championship best-of-three series. Lander rallied late, scoring six unanswered runs to defeat the Cougars in game two.
Columbus State Cougars lead-off batter
Luke Miller started the game with a single to right field, and Cody Evans hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Miller and gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Lander would answer the Cougars in the bottom of the second inning after Garrett Chun doubled down the left field line and he advanced to third on a wild pitch. Will McClellan hit a sacrifice fly to left field that Chun scored on to tie the game at 1-1.
The Cougars added two more runs in the top of the third inning.
Jackson Chizek singled through the right side, and
Cayden Evans reached first on an error by the third baseman and Chizek scored on the play.
Victor Junco singled to second base and Evans scored, which gave Columbus a 3-1 lead.
Trace Goforth got two outs in the fifth then walked Grant Sherrod, Connor Droze singled to left center field, Chun singled to the shortstop loading the bases, and
Adam Love gave Lander their first lead of the game when he hit a triple to right field that bounced off the wall to clear the bases, bringing the score to 5-3.
Lander led 8-3 after Droze hit a home run to right field and Evan Wickeri and Sherrod scored in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Goforth threw 123 pitches, pitched six innings, gave up six runs on six hits, and struck out eight batters in the loss for the Cougars.
Junco, Miller, and
Warrick Wilmot were honored post game as part of the All-Tournament team.
Inside the Numbers
- The Cougars tallied three runs on five hits and committed no errors.
- The Bearcats tallied eight runs on nine hits and committed two errors.
- Junco went 2-for-4 with one RBI.
- Miller went 1-for-3, with a walk, and a run scored.
- The Cougars left nine runners on base and the Bearcats left seven runners on base.
- Trace Goforth pitched six innings, gave up six runs on six hits, and struck out eight batters.
Next Up
- Columbus State will wait for the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, May 11 at 10:30 pm ET. The NCAA Southeast Regional Baseball Tournament begins on Thursday, May 15.