DAHLONEGA | A four-run sixth and a three-run eighth was enough to hold off a late University of North Georgia rally as the No. 7 Nighthawks fell to No. 28 Columbus State 8-6 in Peach Beltr Conference action Saturday afternoon at Bob Stein Stadium.

North Georgia took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Sam Tidaback hit his fourth homerun of the year. The Nighthawks led 2-0 in the third when Tidaback brought home Connor Hoover on a RBI groundout.

The Cougars would then score eight unanswered runs starting in the fourth inning when Christian Miller hit a homerun to left center to make the score 2-1.

Two innings later, Columbus State put four more runs on the board, highlighted by a Lake Hart triple to left center. In the eighth, the Cougars scored their final three runs on two homeruns, one by Mike McClellan and the other by Ryan Ihle.

North Georgia cut the lead to two runs in the bottom of the eighth when Trevor Sams hit a three-run homerun right after Tidaback doubled to score the first run of the inning. The Nighthawks got the tying run to the plate in the ninth but grounded into a double play to end the game.

NOTES
- Tidaback finished 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBI and two runs scored to lead the Nighthawk offense.

- Albert Harless earned the win for the Cougars, improving to 2-0 on the season. He struck out eight UNG batters and threw 118 pitches. North Georgia's Steven Bower (3-2) was tabbed with the loss after going 5.1 innings and giving up three runs off seven hits.

NEXT UP
The two teams will square off in a rubber game at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday in Dahlonega.