COLUMBUS, Ga. | Young Harris College got eight strong innings from Nate Lamb and smacked 18 hits as the Mountain Lions claimed a 16-3 win over No. 8-ranked Columbus State University in the opening round of the Peach Belt Conference Baseball Tournament Friday (May 13) afternoon at Burger King Stadium at Ragsdale Field.

The Mountain Lions, who are seeded fourth in the double-elimination tournament, improved to 36-17. The 36 wins ties a program record (NCAA era). YHC also won 36 games in 2019 when the Mountain Lions won the PBC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament and in 2012. YHC will advance to Saturday's (May 14) 11 a.m. winner's bracket game against  Georgia College, which defeated  Georgia Southwestern State University 6-5 in 10 innings. The top-seeded Cougars fell to 40-10 and will face Georgia Southwestern State game in a 3 p.m. elimination game Saturday (May 14). 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• Every starter in the lineup had at least one hit, including Mark Castle and Noah Fitzgerald led the hit parade with four each, while Rome Wallace collected three. Kyle Ayers and Ethan Underwood had two apiece.
• Starter Nate Lamb (6-4) was nearly untouchable as he only allowed six hits and three unearned runs in eight innings with six strikeouts. McLain Harris pitched a scoreless ninth.
• YHC, who had its leadoff hitter reach in every inning but the second, started the game with three consecutive hits and took a 1-0 lead on an RBI single up the middle.
• Fitzgerald led off the third with a home run to left-center field to double the Mountain Lion lead to 2-0.
• It would stay that way until YHC scored twice in the seventh to go up 4-0. Logan Worley scored on a wild pitch, while Wallace added a run-scoring single to left.
• The Mountain Lions added two more runs an inning later as Fitzgerald connected on a homer to left - his ninth of the season.
• After Columbus State took advantage of two YHC miscues in the bottom of the eighth for three runs, the Mountain Lions quelled any thoughts of a CSU comeback by scoring 10 runs in the top of the ninth. Wallace had a three-run homer to left field and Castle followed with a solo home run to left center. It was Wallace's 13th long ball, while it was Castle's sixth. Jackson Jones added a two-run single down the left-field line.

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