GREENWOOD – Cory Hopper pitched a complete game and Jordan Owens belted a two-run homer, giving the Lander Bearcats an 8-3 Peach Belt Conference victory over Augusta State Sunday afternoon at Stephen B. Dolny Stadium.
After the teams split a double-header on Saturday, Lander won the series Sunday to improve to 10-5 overall and 2-1 in the PBC.
The Jaguars fell to 6-9, 1-5.
Hopper (1-1) allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits in nine complete innings. He struck out nine and walked three.
Josh Barks (2-2) took the loss for the Jaguars, allowing five runs, four earned, on eight hits in seven innings of work. Barks fanned four and walked two. Tyler Ross gave up three runs, two earned, on one hit in one inning.
Augusta took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth when Seth Foster singled to right, moved to second on Curtis Parker's sacrifice bunt, and stopped at third on a wild pitch. Clay Tucker walked, and he and Foster pulled off a double steal with Foster swiping home.
Lander tied it in the bottom of the fourth when AJ Nunziato singled to right, stole second, and scored on Kevin Starr's double over the center fielder's head.
The Jaguars regained the lead in the top of the fifth when Justin Thigpen reached on an infield single a few feet in front of the plate, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ross Miles, and scored on Caleb Saggus's double into the left-field corner. With two outs, Bearcats second baseman Erik Lunde saved a run going far to his right to stop Foster's up-the-middle grounder and threw him out at first.
Lander scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to take a 3-2 lead. Weston Lawing doubled into the right-field corner, moved to third on Ian Harvey's fly out to center, and scored the tying run on a wild pitch. The Bearcats loaded the bases with one out when Jeff May singled, moved to second as Owens reached on a throwing error by Augusta's third baseman, stopped at third when Colby Painter walked, and scored the go-ahead run on Lunde's ground out to second.
Lander blew the game open with five runs in the eighth. Patrick Grady reached on an infield single to shortstop and moved to third on Starr's single to left. Grady scored when Juan Montana reached on a fielder's choice, Harvey grounded out to score a run, Montana scored on a wild pitch, and Owens hit a two-run homer over the left-field fence. It was his first home run of the season.
The Jaguars scored once in the ninth when Parker singled to center, moved to second when the center fielder misplayed the ball, stopped at third when Matt Smith reached on an infield single, and scored when Tucker reached on a ball misplayed in right. The game ended when Thigpen lined out to first baseman Owens, who dove to his left to catch the ball and touched first to double off Justin Appel.
Owens paced the Bearcats at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Starr went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
