COLUMBUS, GA. – The Columbus State baseball team tallied a 9-2 victory over Lander University on Sunday afternoon, giving the Cougars a sweep of the three-game Peach Belt Conference series at Burger King Stadium.
Columbus State has now won four straight games as part of its current win streak and moves its overall record to 17-9 overall with an 11-4 mark in Peach Belt play, while Lander falls to 16-14 on the year with a 10-8 PBC record.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Columbus State opened the game with a run in the first inning as junior Jax Yoxtheimer hit a lead-off double to right center and was later brought home to score by senior Cayden Evans.
- The Cougars' lead extended to a 3-0 advantage after four innings of play as senior Warrick Wilmot and Yoxtheimer had an RBI in the third and fourth innings, respectively.
- In the fifth, Columbus State tacked on two more runs with an RBI single from junior Jacob Smith, followed by an RBI double from fellow junior Corey Berry.
- The seventh inning of action saw Smith lace a lead-off double to right field, followed by a walk from junior Corey Berry. Both runners later came around to score on a two-out RBI single from Evans before senior Michael Cruz drove in two runs with an RBI single of his own to put CSU ahead 9-0 in the contest.
- Lander scratched two runs across the plate in the top of the eighth inning, but junior Dexter Benoit came out of the bullpen to shut the Bearcats' offense down for 1.2 innings of perfect relief.
NOTES
- Redshirt-junior Gavin Blair (1-0) was an ace in his third start of the season, collecting his first win as a Cougar after going a season-high 6.2 innings on the mound while giving up just five hits with three strikeouts.
- Yostheimer finished 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored, an RBI, and two walks, while Evans had a team-high three RBI in the win.
- Cruz had two hits and two RBI of his own, and Smith, senior Jackson Chizek, and sophomore Luke Miller each recorded two hits for Columbus State.
- Sunday's win completed Columbus State's second Peach Belt Conference series sweep of the season and moved the program up to second overall in the League standings.
- The Cougars have now won eight of their last 10 games and boast a 13-4 record inside Burger King Stadium.
UP NEXT
Columbus State travels to Albany, Ga. on Tuesday, March 24 for the second game of a home-and-home series with Albany State University at 5:00 p.m. The two teams met back on February 11 in Columbus where the Cougars escaped with a 7-6 win in 10 innings for their first win of the year.
