DAHLONEGA – The No. 10 University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team erased an early deficit but could not slow Lander's offense in an 11-7 loss in game two of the Peach Belt Conference Championship Series on Saturday at Bob Stein Stadium.
The Bearcats struck first in the third inning with a two-run single to left field for a 2-0 advantage.
North Georgia answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning.
Brody Yeomans launched a three-run homer to right field to give the Nighthawks a 3-2 lead, scoring
Ben Hamacher and
Hunter Thompson. Later in the inning,
Jake Streeter added an RBI single up the middle to extend the advantage to 4-2.
The Nighthawks pushed the lead to 5-2 in the fourth after Yeomans doubled to left field and
Brady Skipper later scored on a Lander fielding error.
Lander regained momentum in the fifth inning. The Bearcats delivered an RBI single that turned into a two-run play following a throwing error, trimming the deficit to one before a two-run homer to left-center field put the Bearcats back in front, 6-5.
North Georgia tied the game later in the fifth when Hamacher drove in Streeter with an RBI single to first base, but the Bearcats answered again in the sixth on a two-run homer to reclaim the lead at 8-6.
Lander added insurance in the eighth with RBI singles before North Georgia picked up a run on a double-play ball in the bottom half of the inning. The Bearcats capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the ninth.
Yeomans led the Nighthawks offensively, finishing 3-for-5 with three RBI, while Streeter also recorded three hits and drove in a run.
Dylan Holbrook took the loss in relief for North Georgia after allowing three runs over 2.1 innings.
Andrew Duval started and struck out five across 4.2 innings, while
Evan Carter and
Ethan Finch also saw time out of the bullpen.
