COLUMBUS, GA. – Sophomore
Luke Miller's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 12th inning gave the Columbus State baseball team a 6-5 victory over visiting Peach Belt Conference foe Lander University on Friday night inside Burger King Stadium at Ragsdale Field.
Columbus State moves its overall record to 15-9 with a 9-4 mark in Peach Belt play, while Lander falls to 16-12 with a 10-6 PBC record.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- As it has so often during the 2026 season, the Columbus State offense struck first with a run in the opening inning of play, thanks to a sacrifice fly from senior Cayden Evans that brought junior Jax Yoxtheimer across the plate.
- Lander responded with a two-run second inning before CSU tied the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the third with a solo home run from Yoxtheimer, his second long ball of the year.
- The Bearcats retook the lead at 3-2 with a run in the sixth inning of play.
- In the eighth, Columbus State put a crooked number on the scoreboard with three runs on three hits, including RBI singles from Miller and junior Jacob Smith. to build a 5-3 lead.
- A two-run home run from Lander's Zach Cowart tied the game at 5-all in the ninth inning as CSU left two runners on base in the bottom of the inning to go into extra innings
- Neither side was able to gain ground until the bottom of the 12th when senior Bryce Knox drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a single from junior Cole Eison.
- Columbus State loaded the bases when senior Michael Cruz reached on a fielding error by the Lander second baseman, setting Miller up to provide a walk-off sac fly to left and give the Cougars the win.
NOTES
- Sophomore right-hander Sawyer Wilson gave up three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts across 6.1 innings in his eighth start of the year, while junior Dexter Benoit (2-0) earned the victory after allowing just two hits with a strikeout in two innings of relief.
- Four Cougars had multi-hit performances in the win, led by Miller's 2-for-4 night with a walk, a run scored, and two RBI.
- Smith and senior Jackson Chizek each finished 2-for-5, while Yoxtheimer had two hits of his own, including a home run, an RBI, and two runs scored.
UP NEXT
The Cougars and Bearcats play game two of the weekend series tomorrow, with first pitch scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
