PBC YEARBOOK
Baseball
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Y E A R S
CSU WINS PBC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT !
FLORENCE , S . C . – The fifth-ranked and top-seeded Columbus State University baseball team capped off a championship sweep Sunday defeating sixth-ranked and second-seeded Lander 9-4 to capture the Peach Belt Conference Tournament championship . The tournament was held at Sparrow Stadium in Florence , S . C .
It is the fifth PBC Tournament title in Columbus State history and the first since the 2010 season . It is also just the second time that CSU ( 42-12 ) has won both the PBC regular season and tournament titles with the other time coming in 1996 .
“ This has been an amazing journey ,” said head coach Greg Appleton . “ This team really is a family and it shows on the field in how they play for each other .
“ It is an amazing feeling that we won both titles and it is just a testament to these guys for always fighting and working hard to get better each and every day . Our journey isn ’ t over yet and I know these guys want to accomplish even more next week .”
With the win , the Cougars earn the PBC ’ s automatic bid to the NCAA Southeast Regional next week . CSU will have a chance to host and earn the region ’ s number one seed after the victory over LU . Lander was first in the most recent region ranking followed by the Cougars . After being held to just seven runs in two days , the Columbus
State offense wasted no time in striking first . With two outs , CSU
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strung together three straight singles on three consecutive pitches to load the bases . Matt Nettles would then step up to the plate and rip a double down the left field line that scored a pair .
Lander ( 38-14 ) would have answered in the bottom of the first if it wasn ’ t for Cougar centerfielder Tyler Fichter . With one out , Zach Daly cranked a ball to deep centerfield that Fichter tracked to the wall . The junior would then leap and rob what would have been a two-run homer . Cougar starter Brandon Koehler then retired the next two hitters to get out of the inning unharmed .
In the third , the Cougars made it 3-0 with one swing of the bat as Christian Miller hit his second homer of the tournament to right-center .
The Bearcats got on the board in their half of the third . After Matt White singled with one out and moved to second on a wild pitch , Daly singled him home to make it a 3-1 game .
The Cougar offensive finally exploded in the fourth scoring three runs to increase their lead out to 6-1 . Justin Evans singled to get things started before Jackson Oliver was hit by a pitch with one out to put two on . Following a LU pitching change , Ryan Ihle banged a double off the left field wall to chase home both Evans and Oliver . Miller would add on , picking up his second RBI of the day with a two-out single through the left side of the infield .
Lander quickly answered making it a 6-3 game after four . With one out , the Bearcats had runners on second and third for Alex Conaway , who singled right back through the middle to plate both runs . Koehler was able to limit the damage after getting Mason Dodd to roll into a
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