DAHLONEGA – The No. 16 University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team completed a sweep of USC Aiken with a thrilling 7-6 victory in extra innings on Senior Day at Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park on Saturday.

UNG (33-12, 21-3 Peach Belt) now holds a 1.5-game lead over second place Lander and a three-game lead over third place Georgia College in the conference standings after the sweep over the Pacers (18-27, 8-16).

The results of Saturday's showdown was in doubt in the early stages as Aiken scored a run in the first and second innings to take a 2-0 lead.

Junior center fielder Andrews Opata calmed the anxiety in the fourth inning as he blasted his ninth home run of the season to right center field. With one swing the three-run homer gave the Nighthawks a 3-2 lead.

Bullpen arms held both teams scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings. Senior reliever Daniel Courtney pitched four scoreless innings with just two hits allowed and a pair of strikeouts to quiet the Pacers offense after entering the game in the third inning. 

The score remained at 3-2 until UNG broke through again, expanding its lead in the seventh.

With the corners occupied and one out in the inning, sophomore outfielder Kyle Robitzsch brought in a run with a sacrifice fly to right field to make it 4-2.

On the very next play, senior outfielder Jorge Arispuro reached on an error from Pacers third baseman Kaden Usry. A subsequent error on the same play in left field from Brody Yeomans allowed redshirt freshman Nicholas Stinson to score and give the Nighthawks a three-run lead.

In the eighth inning, UNG was on the verge of victory, needing just four outs to complete the sweep. Instead, a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs, leading the way for a two-run single from Jack Hobson to pull the Pacers within one run at 5-4.

In the ninth, Aiken was still down a run but on the verge of flipping the scoreboard as the Pacers loaded the bases with only one out in the frame. 

Graduate reliever Zach Green nearly got out of the game when he got exactly what he needed off the bat of David Glisson; a tailor-made double play ground ball. 

Junior shortstop Jace Bowen fielded the ball and flipped it to junior second baseman Brady Skipper for the first out. Skipper turned and gunned the ball to first base with a chance to turn the double play and end the game. However, the ball skipped out of the glove and away from redshirt junior first baseman Phillip Ard. 

As Ard retrieved the ball, two runners scored, suddenly giving the Pacers a 6-5 lead in the ninth.

In the bottom of the ninth, Stinson led off the frame with a base hit to right field. With one out, Arispuro followed with another single, sending Stinson into scoring position at second base as the game-tying run.

Then it was Skipper's turn at the dish. The infielder turned on a pitch and smoked it into left field. Stinson came charging home to tie the game and eventually force extra innings.

Green retired Aiken in order in the top of the 10th. After the Nighthawks failed to score in the home half of the inning, Green took the mound again in the 11th inning. 

He gave up a lead-off single, but continued to battle through the inning. Green eventually negated the threat with a strikeout to end the inning, his fourth of the day in 3.2 innings pitched. 

Stinson led off the bottom of the inning with another single back up the middle. Robitzsch laid down a textbook sacrifice bunt to move Stinson into scoring position. An intentional walk and strikeout brought senior third baseman Riley Frost to the plate with a chance to win the game.

Frost was honored during the Senior Day festivities prior to Saturday's game. Suiting up in a Nighthawk uniform for the past four seasons, Frost has been an integral piece in building UNG into the team it is today. Despite some offensive struggles this year, he has started 44 of 45 games at third base for head coach Tom Cantrell. 

Frost is not only a locker room leader and premium defender at third base, but a machine in the clutch who looks at pressure as a privilege rather than a burden. Last season, Frost ended the year on a walk-off grand slam in the final regular season conference game of the year. On Saturday, he had a chance to do so again as a senior in one of the final home games of his storied career. Perhaps itching to do so, he did not wait long.

On the first pitch, Frost drilled a fly ball towards the gap in right center field. It hung up long enough to give Pacers right fielder Jack Hobson a chance to track it down on the warning track. However, the second "Hawk Off" of the season was inevitable. 

The ball flew past Hobson's glove and landed near the base of the wall. Stinson raced home and flung off his helmet before stepping on the plate. The UNG dugout poured onto the field in celebration to mob Frost who was standing between first and second base. The senior delivered the emphatic, extra-inning win on Senior Day. It just may culminate in a Peach Belt Conference Regular-season Championship for the Nighthawks.

Their magic number is two wins with three games remaining to clinch at least a share of the regular-season crown. Lander (33-13, 20-4) concludes the season with a three-game series at Georgia Southwestern next weekend. 

Meanwhile UNG will head to Milledgeville, Ga. for a three-game set against Georgia College (27-19, 18-6) April 25-27. A Nighthawk win paired with a Bearcats loss on Friday, April 25 would clinch a share of the regular-season championship for UNG.