TIGERVILLE, S.C. – The No. 14 University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team erased an early seven-run deficit and scored five of the game's final six runs to defeat Lander 12-11 Friday in an elimination game at the NCAA Southeast Regional.
Lander jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening inning, capitalizing on a pair of sacrifice flies and a two-run double. The Bearcats added two more runs in the second inning to take a 7-0 advantage before UNG answered in the third.
North Georgia began chipping away with RBI hits from
Brody Yeomans and
Kyle Robitzsch before
Jake Streeter delivered a two-run single to center field to cut the deficit to 7-4. Lander responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to push the lead back to five.
The Nighthawks continued to battle back over the middle innings. Robitzsch drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth, and
Hunter Thompson launched a two-run homer to left field in the fifth to bring UNG within 9-7.
After Lander added a run in the sixth, North Georgia again answered in the seventh. Thompson drove in a run on a groundout before
Ben Hamacher singled through the left side to make it a one-run game at 10-9.
The Nighthawks completed the comeback in the eighth inning.
Caleb Farr tied the game with an RBI double to center field, and
JD Coleman followed with a go-ahead double down the left field line to give the Nighthawks their first lead of the afternoon at 11-10.
Streeter added an insurance run in the ninth with his third RBI of the day on a single to left field. Lander plated one run in the bottom of the ninth, but
Andrew Duval recorded the final outs to secure the victory.
Streeter led the offensive effort, going 4-for-5 with three RBI. Thompson drove in three runs, including his two-run homer, while Robitzsch added two RBI. Coleman and Yeomans each collected three hits in the win.
After starter
Rhaylin Carvajal threw one inning, the Nighthawks bullpen settled the game down.
Evan Carter worked 4.1 innings in relief before
Ryan Taylor recorded two key outs in the sixth. Duval earned the win to improve to 10-2 after allowing one run and striking out four across the final three innings.
The Nighthawks advance to face the loser of Friday night's matchup between Francis Marion and North Greenville on Saturday at 2 p.m.
