DAHLONEGA – The No. 12 University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team scored two unanswered runs in the top of the eighth inning to down Augusta 5-4 in the series opener of a Peach Belt Conference (PBC) matchup Friday night.
The Jaguars found their way onto the scoreboard early with a two-RBI single to take the first lead of the series.
North Georgia responded right away in the top of the second. Back-to-back base hits from Cam Hodge and Jake Streeter set up JD Coleman for a sacrifice fly to plate the Nighthawks' first run. UNG kept things rolling with a single from Hunter Thompson to bring Streeter home and head into the third inning tied 2-2.
Augusta managed to retake a two-run lead in the bottom of the third with a pair of RBI singles.
The Nighthawks again had an answer in the following frame with a leadoff double from Streeter and another sacrifice fly from Coleman to send him home and bring the score within one.
What followed in the next few frames was a pitcher's duel between Matthew Heard and Griffin Stewart. Both starting pitchers worked through the order, never seeing more than four batters from the bottom of the fourth through the top of the sixth inning.
After a pitching change in the top of the eighth from Augusta, Brody Yeomans capitalized with a leadoff walk and advanced into scoring position off a wild pitch. Kyle Robitzsch cashed in on the base running from Yeomans with an RBI single to bring him and tie the game.
Robitzsch found his way to second on another wild pitch from the Jaguars, and Streeter seized the moment with an RBI single to left field, giving North Georgia its first lead of the game.
After Dylan Holbrook took over on the bump in the bottom of the sixth, North Georgia kept the Jaguar bats at bay. A three up, three down in the bottom of the eighth retired the side and set the stage for a one-run lead for the Nighthawks in the final inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, Holbrook had to work through the top of the Jaguars' lineup to prevent an Augusta walkoff in game one. After a strikeout and a groundout from the first two batters, Holbrook closed the door on the Jaguars with a swinging strikeout and clinched the series opener for North Georgia.
Holbrook delivered his best game of the season for his first win of the 2026 campaign. The Sandy Springs, Ga. native gave up no runs and no hits through four innings of work behind a career-high seven strikeouts.
Streeter led the Nighthawks at the plate with a 3-4 performance, an RBI and a pair of runs scored.
The Nighthawks (26-8, 17-2 PBC) will try to secure the series win tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Jaguars Field.
