UNG baseball claims best PBC start in school history

COLUMBUS -- The North Georgia baseball team broke out the brooms again this weekend, sweeping Columbus State with a pair of wins in Saturday's doubleheader, 10-4 and 5-4.

The Nighthawks are now 10-4 on the season with an eight-game winning streak, the longest for the program since winning nine straight in April of 2008.

UNG is off to its best Peach Belt Conference start in school history at 6-0, in sole possession of first place in the early stretch of the season. Paired with last weekend's sweep of Georgia Southwestern, this marks only the second time in school history that North Georgia has swept back-to-back PBC series, accomplishing the feat against then-member USC Upstate and Lander in March of 2007.

Game One
In the first game of the day, the Nighthawks wasted no time getting on the board as Steven Tomlinson knocked in Joey Cecere from second on an RBI single to left field, giving UNG a 1-0 lead.

After back-to-back leadoff singles in the second reached Tremayne Toorie and Andrew Gordon, Devin Gearhart and Cecere would bring them home to make it a 3-0 Nighthawk lead.

Columbus State evened the game up at 3-3 in the bottom of the second inning, sparked by back-to-back home runs to lead things off. North Georgia answered the call in the top of the fourth though, retaking the lead with a four-run frame.

The Nighthawks tacked on two insurance runs in the seventh, aided by a pair of Cougar fielding errors. UNG would score its tenth run in the top of the ninth when Gearhart came home on an error by the second baseman.

Chris Cobb picked up his first win of the season pitching 4.1 innings of relief work, only allowing one run on four hits in that stretch with three strikeouts.

Game Two
The second game of the twin bill was a tight one through the first six innings of play. Six of North Georgia's seven hits in the game went for extra bases.

After Columbus State snuck on the board first in the bottom of the fifth, three sixth inning doubles by Trevor Sams, Gearhart, and Connor Hoover powered UNG to a 3-2 lead in the following frame.

A Toorie RBI double to left-center gave the Nighthawks an extra run in the seventh and Sams would add another in the eighth with a solo home run to left-center, giving North Georgia a 5-2 advantage.

Columbus' Blaine Miller would make things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, smacking a two-run homer to left, but a groundout to the pitcher in the next at bat would end the game, giving UNG the 5-4 win and the series sweep.

Blake Gaubert (3-0) earned the win in his second complete game of the season. Gaubert allowed four runs while scattering eight hits and striking out five.

Next Up
The Nighthawks will look to keep their hot streak alive next weekend with a three-game series against Georgia College back at the friendly confines of Bob Stein Stadium. First pitch for Friday's game is set for 5 p.m.