Golden in the Gold City: Lander Claims Second Straight PBC Tournament Title

5/9/2026 6:35:00 PM | By: Turner Kirby - Director of Athletic Communications

DAHLONEGA, Ga. - Less than two months after being swept at Columbus State and falling to 16-14 overall and 10-8 in Peach Belt Conference play, the Lander baseball team responded to a challenge from first-year head coach Nick Popp by closing the season on a 20-5 run. The 20th and biggest win of that stretch came Saturday afternoon as the Bearcats defeated top-seeded and 10th-ranked North Georgia Nighthawks, 11-7, in game two of the PBC Championship Series at Bob Stein Stadium to capture their second straight tournament title.

The championship is Lander's third PBC Tournament title in program history, joining titles in 2014 and 2025, and marks the sixth overall conference championship for the Bearcats alongside regular-season crowns in 2014, 2024 and 2025. Lander also became the first program to repeat as PBC Tournament champions since Georgia College accomplished the feat in 2017 and 2018.

The victory secured the Peach Belt's automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship and marks the first time in program history that Lander will appear in the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons.

Lander also became the first Peach Belt team to win a series against North Georgia since the final weekend of the 2024 regular season.

As was the case in Friday's opener, the two teams traded punches throughout the afternoon with nearly every scoring inning answered by the other side.

The Bearcats scored six of their 11 runs with two outs, highlighted by a four-run fifth inning after the Nighthawks had built a 5-2 lead.

Jake Monroe battled through traffic throughout his 4.1 innings of work and escaped one of his biggest jams in the second inning by inducing a 6-3 double play after North Georgia loaded the bases. A potential run also slipped rounding third base during the inning, helping Monroe keep the game scoreless.

Lander struck first in the top of the third after the first two batters were retired. Caden Crews singled and Zach Cowart drew a walk before a balk moved both runners into scoring position. Ryan Hansen then lined a two-run single to left field to give the Bearcats a 2-0 lead. Oliver Zohn appeared to extend the rally moments later, but his ground ball struck Hansen while he was advancing to second base, resulting in the inning-ending out.

North Georgia answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning with a three-run homer to take the lead and added an unearned run in the fourth to stretch the advantage to 5-2.

Lander responded with its biggest inning of the day in the fifth, again doing its damage with two outs. Cowart and Hansen both walked before Zohn singled to right field. What initially looked like a run-scoring single quickly turned into two runs when the throw back into the infield skipped away, allowing Hansen to score as well and forcing a pitching change.

Brody Winter wasted little time greeting the new pitcher, launching the second pitch he saw over the left-center field wall for a three-run homer that put the Bearcats back in front, 6-5.

The Nighthawks threatened again in the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases before Evan Demurias entered out of the bullpen. Cowart made a diving stop for one out, and Lander nearly escaped the inning when a line drive to first baseman Riley Hood popped out of his glove as he came down from a leap, allowing the tying run to score and knot the game at 6-6.

Lander answered once again in the sixth as Crews singled to open the inning before Cowart blasted his second homer of the series, a 413-foot shot to dead center field, to give the Bearcats an 8-6 lead. Cowart was later named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Demurias kept the Nighthawks off the board in both the sixth and seventh innings before RBI singles from Lowndes Still and Hood pushed Lander's lead to 10-6 in the eighth.

North Georgia plated a run in the bottom of the eighth, but a 6-4-3 double play limited the damage and preserved a three-run lead entering the ninth.

Hansen added a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth to extend the advantage to 11-7.

The Nighthawks mounted one final threat in the bottom half as a walk and single brought the tying run on deck with one out, but Demurias induced a 6-4 fielder's choice before getting a fly out to Cowart to seal the victory and spark a dogpile celebration on the infield.

Cowart was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Zohn, Winter and Joshua Sanchez.

The Bearcats will learn their path to Cary, N.C., on Sunday night during the NCAA Selection Show scheduled for 10 p.m. on ncaa.com.

PBC All-Tournament Team
Luke Miller, Columbus State
CJ Hanson, Flagler
Brady Skipper, North Georgia
Brody Yeomans, North Georgia
Jake Streeter, North Georgia
Oliver Zohn, Lander
Joshua Sanchez, Lander
Brody Winter, Lander

PBC Tournament MVP
Zach Cowart, Lander

Hear from Head Coach Nick Popp Postgame:

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