DAHLONEGA, GA. – In a matchup featuring two of the best offenses in the PBC, the Lander Baseball team shelled No. 21 North Georgia 16-6 to take the first game of a three-game series with the Nighthawks.

Lander moves to 12-5 overall and 8-4 in the PBC while North Georgia drops to 13-6 overall and in the PBC.

Things looked bright for Lander, as the Bearcats brought home five runs in the first inning. With runners of first and second, grad student Mike Fitschen singled down the right field to bring in junior Walker McDowell for the first run of the game. Later that inning redshirt junior Evan Harold brought two more runs around on a single up the middle to make it 3-0. Senior Ward Betts sailed a single out to right field to bring across a run while junior Bo Richey flew out to right field to help bring across another run.

The Nighthawks were ready, as they bashed back-to-back doubles to bring across a run of their own in the bottom of the first. Lander responded the very next inning with an RBI double from sophomore Landon Dupert to give the Blue and Gold their five-run lead back.

North Georgia put one more run on the board in the third before an offensive explosion in the fifth by the Bearcats brought five more runs across. Redshirt junior Bradley Davis, McDowell, Fitchsen and Betts all drove in runs to give Lander an 11-2 edge.

Two runs would come across in both the eighth and ninth innings for the Nighthawks while Lander hung up four more runs, two of those coming off a single to left-center field from senior Roury Glanton.

Grad student Marshall Thompson earned his fifth win of the year after going six innings to begin the contest. Thompson allowed just six hits, two runs and struck out nine Nighthawks. Redshirt sophomore Zeke Stephens and redshirt senior Praise Thorsen both delt scoreless innings of relief.

Lander and North Georgia are set to play a doubleheader tomorrow with the first game set to begin at 1 pm.

#cLawsUp | @LanderBaseball