Baseball team rolls into PBC title series

Matthew Heard, Andrew Duval and Rhaylin Carvajal picked up pitching wins during the first weekend of the PBC tournament. Ben Hamacher had a pair of three-hit games, while Kyle Robitzsch and Brody Yeomans each had a three-hit game.

First-year UNG head coach Nolan Belcher's team now sets it sights on the PBC championship matchup with Lander. The Nighthawks (41-12) won two out of three games against the Bearcats (34-19) from Feb. 20-22, with a 4-3 victory in 10 innings in the rubber game of the series in Dahlonega.

UNG is seeking the program's second-ever PBC tournament title and first since 2008. The team has already secured its first outright PBC regular-season championship since 2017, which was the last time the program reached the eight-team NCAA Division II championship.

The Nighthawks are also putting themselves in strong position ahead of the NCAA Division II tournament, as they moved up to No. 3 in last week's Southeast Regional rankings. In the national postseason format, the top two teams in each regional host four-team pods in the NCAA tournament's opening weekend. UNG is all but assured of earning an NCAA bid for the second year in a row and fifth time since joining Division II in 2006.

Belcher earned PBC Coach of the Year honors. First-team All-PBC selections for UNG were Hamacher, Heard and Robitzsch. Second-team All-PBC selections for the Nighthawks were JD Coleman, Kevin Cox, Duval, Cam Hodge, Brady Skipper, and Jake Streeter.

PBC baseball championship series

UNG vs. Lander

Bob Stein Stadium, Dahlonega, Georgia

• Game 1: 5 p.m. May 8
• Game 2: 1 p.m. May 9
• Game 3 (if necessary): 5 p.m. May 9