Lander Drops Southeast Regional Opener to No. 3 North Greenville 5/14/2026 11:18:00 PM | By: Turner Kirby - Director of Athletic Communications Share: TIGERVILLE, S.C. - The eighth-seeded Lander baseball team dropped its opening game of the 2026 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, 17-6, to top-seeded and third-ranked North Greenville on a windy, chilly Thursday evening at Ray & Bea Dillard Field. Lander will now face fourth-seeded and 14th-ranked North Georgia at 2 p.m. Friday in an elimination game. The Nighthawks fell earlier in the day to fifth-seeded and 15th-ranked Francis Marion. North Greenville and Francis Marion will meet in the winner's bracket game at 6 p.m. Friday. North Greenville jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and eventually scored the first 11 runs of the game to take an 11-0 advantage after five innings. Lander got on the board in the seventh inning on a balk to make it 11-1, but North Greenville answered with three more runs in the bottom half of the inning to stretch the lead to 14-1. The Bearcats plated five runs in the eighth inning on RBIs from Cooper Backman, Zach Cowart, Ryan Hansen and Oliver Zohn to cut the deficit to 14-6, but the Trailblazers responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning to put the game away. The Bearcats and Nighthawks will meet for the third time in seven days and sixth time overall this season with both teams facing elimination. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday. Related Stories 05.18.26 Eight PBC Baseball Players named All-Region 05.16.26 Nighthawks’ Season Comes to an End at NCAA DII Southeast Regional 05.15.26 Nighthawks Rally Past Lander to Stay Alive in Southeast Regional 05.14.26 Nighthawks Rally but Fall to Francis Marion in Regional Opener Related Videos Now Playing: Play Video