AMERICUS, Ga. – The Lander baseball team held a two-run lead in the ninth inning and a three-run lead in the 12th inning on Friday night, but fell 9-8 in 12 innings to Georgia Southwestern.

Lander (15-26, 10-12 PBC) struck for two runs in the second when Roury Glanton doubled home Landon Dupert and scored two batters later on a Nathan Schreckengost single. The Hurricanes (15-26, 9-13 PBC) evened the score with a run in the fourth and another in the fifth, but Zack Moore's two-run homer in the top of the sixth put the Bearcats up 4-2. 

Colton Yeager's RBI single in the top of the ninth gave Lander a 5-3 lead, but Georgia Southwestern rallied to knot the score at 5-5 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth. 

In the top of the 12th, Vincent Addona tripled home Kyle Jenkins to push the Bearcats ahead 6-5. Bailey Connell followed with an RBI double and scored on the next at-bat when Glanton singled. 

Trailing 8-5 in the bottom of the 12th, the Hurricanes cut the deficit to one run with a two-run single. With runners on first and second, a bunt to third base led to a throwing error, bringing home two runs for GSW and ending the game. 

Morgan Bell (1-1) tossed 0.2 scoreless innings to earn the win for Georgia Southwestern, while Zeke Stephens (0-3) allowed a run on two hits for Lander. 

The Bearcats and Hurricanes will end the series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.