PBC YEARBOOK
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Lander outlasted USC Aiken 5-3 Monday afternoon at Columbus
State University’s Burger King Field to win the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Tournament, earning its second trip to the NCAA Division II
College World Series in just three years.
White recorded his 13th save of the season in relief of Will Jones,
who came up big in the most important game of his career and would
wind up Southeast Regional MVP.
Mason Dodd, a freshman, was credited with game-winning hit
as the Bearcats broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the bottom of the
seventh.
Lander, 13th ranked nationally and
seeded second in the Southeast Regional,
improved to 42-14. The Bearcats will join
seven other regional champions in the
NCAA Division II College World Series,
May 28-June 4, in Cary, N.C.
Lander won one game and lost two
in Cary in 2014, including a defeat to the
eventual champion University of Southern Indiana.
USC Aiken, the 19th ranked team in
the nation and No. 4 seed, finished its
season 40-18. Aiken beat the Bearcats
four straight, sweeping them in the regular season and beating them again in the
Peach Belt Conference Tournament but
lost the last two when it mattered most.
Lander went 4-0 in the Regional
and placed Mangum, first baseman
Colby Lusignan, third baseman Dodd,
and starting pitchers JD Waite and Jones on the Southeast Regional
All-Tournament team.
Jones (10-2) pitched seven outstanding innings, allowing two runs
on seven hits while striking out 10 and walking only one on just three
days rest.
Lander head coach Kermit Smith is making his third College World
Series trip, having taken Belmont Abbey in 2009 and the Bearcats in
2014. Smith’s assistant coach Britt Johnson is also making his s