AUGUSTA, Ga. - Although leading 8-0 through the first three innings, the Lander baseball team would fall to Augusta 11-10 to conclude the series.
Lander falls to 13-21 overall and 9-9 in the PBC while Augusta moves to 16-16 overall and 10-11 in the PBC.
Lucas Martino led the Bearcats in hits with three on the day. Martino and Bennet Nooe both had a team-high three RBI.
The Bearcats started the game with a bang in the top of the first.
After a pair of fly-outs began the inning, Connor Droze was able to draw out a walk to keep the inning going. Lucas Martino would blast the first pitch of his at-bat over the right field fence to give Lander an early 2-0 lead.
The Bearcats would explode for six runs on five hits in the top of the third.
Will McClellan would get on base with a one-out walk before reaching third on a single to right-center field from Droze. Martino would get his second hit of the game, as a single to right field scored McClellan. Ethan Wilder would connect on yet another single, as he hit a pitch down the right-field line to score Droze. Bennet Nooe kept the single parade going with a hit up the middle to plate Martino and Wilder. Lander continued to pill on the singles against Augusta, as Ross McCurley slapped a pitch down the left-field line to score Nooe. Matthew Burgess, who had reached earlier in the inning on a walk, scored on a fielder's choice hit into by Gary Garrett to give Lander an 8-0 advantage.
Augusta would plate its first runs of the game in the bottom of the fourth.
A double to right field scored two runs while a SAC fly to left field made it an 8-3 game.
The Jaguars would score a single run in the fifth on an RBI single up the middle to make it an 8-4 contest.
Augusta would continue to score, with four coming around in the bottom of the sixth.
A SAC fly early in the inning made it a three-run game while an RBI double got the Jags within two runs of Lander. Augusta would then score on an RBI single up the middle and another SAC fly to tie the game 8-8.
The home side would take the lead in the bottom of the eighth on a two-out RBI double to right-center field.
Lander would tie the game at 9-9 in the top of the ninth. After Martino hit a double down the right-field line, he would be pinch-run for by Caleb Singleton. Later in the inning, Nooe would hit a single and would advance to second on an error by the Augusta left fielder as Singleton scored. The lead would swing back to Lander after Chris Manriquez hit a pinch-hit SAC fly to center field to score Dalton Stroud who had come in to run for Nooe.
Lander and Augusta would end up tied once more in the bottom of the ninth. A double, a wild pitch and an RBI single made it a 10-10 contest. The Jaguars would hit another double and an RBI single down the right-field line to walk off the Bearcats.
Luke Johnson got the start for the Bearcats in the final game of the series against Augusta. Johnson went 4.2 innings where he allowed four runs, all earned, on three hits while walking three and striking out seven.
Matthew Ellis was awarded the loss. Ellis threw 0.2 innings where he allowed two runs on four hits.
Tyler Overholt, Bennett Sloper and Evan Demurias and Michael Nastro all saw relief appearances as well.
Lander returns to Dolny Stadium for four games starting on April 4. The Bearcats first take on Limestone in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday before hosting the Georgia College Bobcats for a PBC series on Friday and Saturday.
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