GREENWOOD – The Lander baseball team returns to Dolny Stadium this weekend as it battles with No. 20 Columbus State Saturday and Sunday.

QUICK HITTERS

Where To Watch: Bearcat Broadcasting Network (02/27 DH) Bearcat Broadcasting Network (02/28)

Live Stats: Landerbearcats.com (Gm 1) Landerbearcats.com (Gm 2) Landerbearcats.com (Gm 3)

Lander's Record: 5-1, 2-0 PBC

No. 20 Columbus State's Record: 2-0, 2-0 PBC

First Met: 1998 (12-2 CSU)

Last Met: Mar. 1, 2020 (8-3 CSU)

Last 10 Against Columbus State: 1-9

Next Series: March 6-7 at Flagler

STORYLINES

• The Bearcats are coming off an 8-3 defeat at the hands of Wingate on February 16.
• Before that, Lander had won its first five games of the season.
• The Bearcats have scored in double-figures three times this season.
• Senior Ward Betts leads the team in batting average with a .478 average through six games and 23 at-bats. Betts is tied for the team lead in hits with 11 along with having two doubles, 2 home runs and five RBI.
• Betts is among the top-10 in the PBC for batting average,
• Senior Roury Glanton is hitting .393 this season with 11 hits, three doubles, two triples, two home runs and five RBI.
• Glanton's two triples is the most among PBC hitters.
• Glanton and Betts are currently tied for fourth among PBC hitters with 11 hits.
• Grad Student Mike Fitschen is hitting .304 along with an on-base percentage of .452. Fitschen has seven hits, two doubles and five RBI along with walking six times this season.
• As a team, Lander is hitting .276, good for sixth among PBC schools.
• The Bearcats are third in the PBC in hits with 58. They are also second so far in doubles with 14, third in triples with two, tied for fifth with five home runs and second in RBI with 45.
• Grad student Marshall Thompson is among the PBC's best pitchers so far this season, as the righty owns an ERA of 1.38 in 13 innings of work. He has only allowed nine hits, two earned runs and has stuck out 21 unlucky souls. Hitters are hitting a combined .188 against him.
• Thompson and grad student Justin Walker are in the top-five for strikeouts in the PBC with 21 and 20 respectively.
• Redshirt senior Praise Thorsen has been a staple out of the pen early this season. He currently has a 0.00 ERA and a 1-0 overall record along with picking up a team-high two saves. Thorsen has pitched 6.2 innings of work so far while only allowing two hits, no runs while striking out 11 batters. Batters this season are hitting .087 against him.
• The Cougars are 2-0 this season with a pair of wins at Flagler on February 20.
• Columbus State won the first game 6-5 while taking game two 6-4 at Drysdale Field.
• In the most recent 6-4 win at Flagler, Robert Brooks had three hits and two RBI to help lead the Cougars past the Saints.
• The Cougars are led by Brooks with a .500 batting average. He leads the team with four hits, one triple and three home runs in eight at-bats.
• Devin Dudal is leading the Cougars in strikeouts with seven.
• Lander hasn't had the best success against Columbus State, going 1-9 against the Cougars in the last 10 games.
• In their last game against Columbus State, the Bearcats fell 8-3 on March 1 last season.
• Matthew Burgess, Josh Gregory and Justin Wager all had two hits in that game.
• Lander heads south to face Flagler next for a three-game series. The two sides will play a doubleheader on March 6 before a single game on March 7.

#cLawsUp | @LanderBaseball