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AIKEN, S.C. – It took an eight run pair of innings and six pitchers, but the Georgia College & State University baseball team (33-22) shocked host No. 10 USC Aiken 12-8 today (May 8) in the opening round of the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Championship Tournament.
The Pacer bats started the game hot, leading 5-1 after just four innings. The Bobcats responded with four runs each in the fifth and sixth, overtaking the lead and holding off a strong USCA rally late and keeping the No. 5-seed Bobcats in the winners’ bracket.
“We certainly know what we are up against,” said head coach Tom Carty. “Our team knows and I didn’t try to mislead them. I feel like we need to be here Sunday to give ourselves a shot to get into the regional. We are a team this year that has to fight and claw.”
All four runs in the fifth were unearned, as after a pair of errors and a sacrifice bunt gave GCSU second-and-third with one out, centerfielder Sean Harrell (Martinez, Ga.) beat out an infield hit to score shortstop Chandler Snell (Loganville, Ga.). After a Harrell stolen base, catcher Pete Paris (Scranton, Pa.) ripped a two-run single to right, giving the Bobcats a 6-5 lead.
Bobcat reliever Jay Clark (Fargo, N.D.) hit back-to-back batters to load the bases, but escaped with a fly out in the bottom of the fifth, setting up the four insurance runs in the sixth.
First baseman Matt Pitts (Brunswick, Ga.) hit a one-out single and stole second. After an out, second baseman Nathan Martin (Ocilla, Ga.) plated Pitts with a single to left. A Brooks Robinson (Evans, Ga.) double—his second of the game—drove home Martin and set up Harrell for a two-run home run to centerfield and a 9-5 lead.
Bobcat closer Michael Newman (Evans, Ga.) entered with one out and two on in the seventh, getting the final two outs to preserve the 9-6 lead. In the eighth, USCA got a solo blast from PBC Player of the Year Chad Jacobsen and an RBI single from Jamie Benjamin to cut the lead to 9-8, but Georgia College answered with three in the ninth to put it back out of reach. The big blow in the ninth was a two-run single by Snell.
Newman got Jacobsen to ground into a double play to end the game, picking up his school-record 10th save of the season. Clark (4-1) tossed 1 1/3 innings to get the win, surrendering just one hit and not walking a batter. All-PBC pitcher Scott Wandless (8-2) was tagged for nine hits and nine runs—five earned—over six innings.
The top three spots in the order for GCSU went a combined 8-for-15 with five runs and seven driven in. Harrell was 3-for-4 with four RBI and a pair of runs, Robinson went 3-for-6 with a run and an RBI and Paris added a 2-for-5 day with two runs and two driven in. Snell drove in two and scored once with a 2-for-5 effort, and Martin scored three times with a 2-for-2 day, driving in one.
The No. 5-seed Bobcats face No. 4-seed North Georgia College & State University tomorrow at 11 a.m. The Saints beat No. 3-seed Francis Marion University 6-2 today.
The GCSU Department of Athletics sponsors 10 NCAA Division II athletic programs over three seasons. As a Division II program, GCSU prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the Bobcats’ multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Follow the Bobcats and their positive impact on the Milledgeville community at www.gcsu.edu/bobcats.
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