2015-16 PBC Yearbook | Page 80

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Y E A R S

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PBC YEARBOOK

double play .
Columbus State got an insurance run in the sixth before icing the game with two more in the eighth . Oliver began the inning with a single through the right side of the infield before Ihle followed with his second double of the game , this time to right , as he made it an 8-3 game . After a pitching change and two outs , Blake Edwards recorded CSU ’ s second double of the inning to score another Cougar run .
Lander was able to score one in the ninth , but Cougar reliever Robert Hayes slammed the door shut to give the Cougars the victory .
Miller and Edwards were both 3-for-5 in the win for CSU . Miller drove in three and scored twice while Edwards had a double and RBI of his own . Ihle was 2-for-5 with two doubles , three driven in and two runs scored . Oliver also picked up a multi-hit day for the Cougars .
After not making it out of the second on Wednesday against North Georgia , Koehler ( 10-1 ) was excellent for Columbus State . The righty limited LU to just three runs on five hits while striking out five . He becomes CSU ’ s first 10-game winner since 2010 . Juan Montana tossed 1.1 innings in relief for the Cougars .
Miller was named the tournament ’ s MVP as he hit . 500 ( 9-for-18 ) with two homers and five driven in . Ihle was also named to the All-Tournament team after hitting . 444 ( 8-for-18 ) with three doubles , a triple and three RBIs . Koehler also earned a spot on the team after his performance Sunday .
White was 2-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI for the Bearcats . Colton Rogers ( 7-2 ) took the loss for Lander after allowing five runs in 3.1 innings .
Columbus State Captures Regular-Season Title
COLUMBUS - The 13th-ranked Columbus State University baseball team captured the program ’ s third Peach Belt Conference regular season title on Saturday with a 20-2 victory over UNC Pembroke . The series is being held at Burger King Stadium at Ragsdale Field .
The championship is the first for the Cougars since 2008 and the second under head coach Greg Appleton . The win also extends CSU ’ s winning streak to 17 games and give the Cougars the # 1 seed in the upcoming PBC Tournament .
“ This is an outstanding group of guys that play for each other ,” Appleton said . “ No one is selfish on this team and I think it shows in the way we play .
“ Obviously , this is a great accomplishment for us and we are going to celebrate it . But by no means have we accomplished our ultimate goal and we still have plenty to play for .”
The Columbus State ( 39-10 , 23-6 PBC ) offense got all the runs it would need in the first two innings as the Cougars jumped all over UNC Pembroke . After scoring the game ’ s first run in the first , CSU exploded for six runs in the second .
With runners on the corners and no outs , Lake Hart did his job , putting the ball in play for the sacrifice fly . Following a Tyler Fichter double that pushed across Justin Evans , Jackson Oliver launched a two-run blast over the right field wall to put the Cougars ahead 5-0 .
After a walk to Ryan Ihle , Mike McClellan got into all the home run action hitting his 18th of the season to make it a 7-0 game .
An inning later , it was 10-0 CSU as Jackson Oliver , Ihle and McClellan all picked up RBIs .
With Albert Harless rolling on the hill , the Cougar offense kept adding on . In the fourth , CSU pushed across two more runs . With runners on the corners , Columbus State put pressure on UNCP ’ s defense as Evans stole his third bag of the game . On the throw down , the ball got away allowing Blake Edwards to score . Evans scored later in the inning on a RBI groundout by Hart to make it a 12-0 Cougar lead .
UNC Pembroke ( 26- 22 , 12-17 ) got its first run of the game in the fifth on a two-out RBI hit by Nolan Pierce .
In the bottom of the sixth , the Braves defense became shaky as two UNCP errors led to two more Cougar runs as Columbus State took a 14-1 lead .
CSU exploded for four more runs in the seventh . A double from Matt Nettles and an error put two Cougars on for Hart . Hart would deliver , lining a three-run homer over the right-centerfield wall . Grant Berry capped off the inning ’ s scoring on a RBI groundout .
Both teams scored runs in the eighth with UNCP adding one while Nettles hit a two-run shot scoring CSU ’ s 20th run of the game .
Oliver ( 3-for-5 ), McClellan ( 3-for-5 ), Nettles ( 3-for-5 ) and Fichter ( 3-for-6 ) all had three hits on the day . Hart was 1-for-3 with five RBIs while Oliver and McClellan added three RBIs of their own . Evans was 0-for-3 , but reach base all six plate appearances scoring five runs and stealing four bases .
McClellan and Ihle each extended their hitting streaks to 17 while Oliver ’ s is now at 13 .

2015-16