DAHLONEGA, GA. – The Columbus State baseball team suffered a 12-5 setback at the hands of Peach Belt Conference front-runner University of North Georgia on Friday night inside Bob Stein Stadium.
Columbus State is now 23-14 overall with a 15-7 record in the PBC, while North Georgia - ranked 13th in the latest NCBWA Poll - improves to 32-10 on the year with a 23-2 conference mark.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- North Georgia got on the board first with a three-run second inning before Columbus State responded with five runs of its own in the top of the third to build a 5-3 lead.
- Junior Cole Eison led off the third with a solo home run to right field before fellow junior Jax Yoxtheimer drove in a run with an RBI triple down the right field line to cut the deficit to just one run.
- Following a ground out and a walk to senior Cayden Evans, fellow senior Bryce Knox stepped to the plate and sent a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall, clearing the bases and putting CSU ahead 5-3 early in the game.
- The Nighthawks quickly responded with three runs in the home half of the frame to retake the lead at 6-5 before adding six more runs to their total between the fifth and eighth innings of play to build a 12-5 advantage.
- Columbus State threatened to score multiple times late in the game, putting runners on the corners with two out in the sixth and loading the bases with two out in the eighth, but CSU couldn't bring any runs across the plate.
NOTES
- Four different CSU batters recorded a multi-hit game as Eison, Evans, and junior Jacob Smith were all 2-for-4.
- Yoxtheimer was 2-for-5 at the plate, while Knox had three RBI on his team-leading fifth home run of the year.
- Junior Wyatt Tharpe was the Cougars' most effective pitcher on the night, allowing just two hits with two strikeouts across one inning of relief in his ninth appearance of the season.
UP NEXT
Columbus State and North Georgia play game two of the weekend series tomorrow, with the first pitch scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
