Wilder's walk-off double gives Lander a 3-2 win over USC Aiken in PBC opener
GREENWOOD — Top-seed Lander used a walk-off double by PBC Player of the Year Ethan Wilder to edge USC Aiken 3-2 in ten innings.
An RBI single by Chris Manriquez scored Connor Droze and gave Lander a 1-0 lead. The Pacers responded with a run in the top of the fifth to tie the game. USC Aiken added another run in the eighth to make it 2-1. In the bottom of the eighth, Wilder singled through the right side to score Olive Zohn and tie the game at two. Logan Kobis and Taichi Nakao led off the bottom of the tenth with walks to put two runners on base. Wilder then laced a 3-2 pitch into left-center field to score Kobis and give Lander the win.
Wilder was 2-5 with a double and two runs driven in to lead the Bearcats, and Manriquez was 1-4 with an RBI. Joshua Sanchez (4-0) picked up the win, allowing one hit and striking out one in one inning.
The Bearcats will now play Flagler at 11:00 am tomorrow in a winner's bracket game.
Glanton, GCSU shuts out Augusta 8-0 in PBC Tournament opener
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. | Georgia College & State University pitcher John Luke Glanton tossed his third consecutive complete game as the the Bobcats shut out Augusta University in the first round of the Peach Belt Conference Baseball Tournament Friday (May 3) afternoon at John Kurtz Field.
The No. 2 seeded Bobcats improved to 30-21, while the No. 7 Jaguars slipped to 23-26. GCSU will face the winner of Friday's other game between No. 3 seed Columbus State University and No. 6 University of North Georgia in an 11 a.m. winner's bracket contest Saturday (May 4), while Augusta will face the loser in a 3 p.m. elimination game.
Glanton, a sophomore right-handed pitcher from Metter, Georgia, was one of five All-PBC first-team performers for the Bobcats. Glanton (9-4) threw 101 pitches as he retired 24 of the last 27 he faced. He surrendered four hits and struck out two as he didn't allow a runner to reach second base until two outs in the ninth inning.
GCSU got the run it needed in the second as they took advantage of two Augusta throwing errors for an unearned run. The Bobcats pushed two runs across in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead. Cam McNearney started the scoring with a sacrifice fly to right before Mason Poole drove in the other run on a infield single to deep short.
An Evan Cowan RBI single in the sixth extended the lead to 4-0 before the Bobcats closed it out with a four-run eighth. Evan Cowan stroked a double just inside the right-field line - the lone extra-base hit for GCSU - to drive in two runs, while his brother Mitch Cowan laced a two-run single up the middle.
GCSU clubbed 13 hits with All-Peach Belt performer Brandon Bellflower and Evan Cowan each collecting three hits, while All-PBC standout Matthew Mebane and Mitch Cowan tallying two hits apiece.
Cougars Defeat North Georgia in PBC Tournament Quarterfinals
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The third seed Columbus State University baseball team defeated sixth seed the University of North Georgia 5-2 Friday night in the quarterfinal round of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament hosted by Georgia College & State University.
After the game was delayed to 6:50 because of lightning, the Cougars and Nighthawks played three innings where UNG took a 2-0 lead off of three hits, the game was delayed again for nearly two hours because of rain and lightning.
When the game picked back up around 9:45 p.m., CSU kicked it into gear and scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to a Colby Brabston two-run RBI single through the right side and a Seth Nelson three-run home run to left field.
Nelson led the Cougars going 3-for-4 at the plate and Cody Ferguson was 2-for-4. Johnny Dow pitched 7.0 innings and recorded the win, striking out eight batters. Leo Giannoni came into the game in relief and pitched 1.2.
Saints rally late and win in 15 to open PBC Tourney
GREENWOOD, S.C. – Payton Palladino's two-out RBI-single in the top of the 15th inning sent Flagler College into the winner's bracket with a 7-6 victory over Georgia Southwestern State University in a Peach Belt Conference Tournament game Friday afternoon at Stephen B. Dolny Stadium.
The 15-inning game broke the PBC Tournament record for the longest game (14 innings – Columbus State University defeated USC Aiken, 5-4, April 23, 1994). It also tied the program record, which came on March 5, 2012 in a 9-8 win over Urbana University in a game played at Savannah, Georgia.
Flagler, the No. 5 seed, improved to 27-22 overall. The Saints will take the winner of tonight's game between Lander University and USC Aiken. That game will be played at 11 a.m. tomorrow. Georgia Southwestern, the No. 4 seed, fell to 34-16 and will play in tomorrow's elimination game at 3 p.m. against the loser of the USC Aiken-Lander game.
With one out in the 15th inning, Jaxson Wentworth reached on a throwing error by the GSW shortstop. He took second on a wild pitch, and two batters later, scored on Palladino's single through the left side of the infield.
The Hurricanes got the lead-off hitter on in the home half of the 15th, but he was eliminated on a double play and the last batter grounded out.
The Saints trailed 6-1 going into the eighth inning, but Taylor Clapp started the rally with an RBI-single and Donovan Garcia drove to more runs in with a double to right field.
Now trailing 6-4 in the top of the ninth, Bryce Fitzgerald led off by drawing a walk. Griffin Garcia came in to pinch run for Fitzgerald and he stole second base. Caden Kresak hit an infield single and Trey Newland followed with a single to center to plate Garcia. Wentworth, who came on as a defensive replacement in the eighth, hit a single to left to score Kresak to tie the game.
Blake Pesante (5-1), the last of 11 pitchers used by Flagler, got the win in relief as he tossed 1.1 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit and he walked a batter.
Matthew Burke led Flagler's 20-hit attack with four hits, all singles. Mason Gray added three singles.
Grant Adams (6-6) took the loss for the Hurricanes. He surrendered an unearned run on two hits with two strikeouts.
Jake Blinstrub went 4-for-6 with a double, two runs scored, and one run batted in.