DAHLONEGA – The No. 13 University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team staved off elimination twice in the 2025 Peach Belt Conference Baseball Tournament Saturday at Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park.

The top-seeded Nighthawks opened the day with a 12-4 victory over eighth-seeded Augusta, exacting revenge from a loss in the opening game of the tournament on Friday.

A two run home run from Aidan Cannaday in the first inning displayed the mirage that the Jaguars might have a chance to upset UNG for the second time in the weekend.

Still trailing 2-0 in the fourth inning, redshirt junior first baseman Phillip Ard sparked one of the most impressive single innings of the season for the Nighthawks.

He pounded his 22nd home run of the year over the left field wall to put UNG on the board with a solo shot. 

After Ard's blast a walk and a double set the table for junior second baseman Brady Skipper. The middle infielder laced a double to left field that scored a pair of runs to give the Nighthawks their first lead of the game at 3-2. 

The Augusta defense began to crumble as senior third baseman Riley Frost reached base on an error. A bunt single from junior right fielder Edwin Bowman IV then loaded the bases. 

Senior catcher Bryson Stripling welcomed a new pitcher into the game by ripping a double of his own to left field. He plated Frost and Skipper on the base knock to extend UNG's lead to 5-2. 

A walk and another error allowed one more run to score and loaded the bases for a second time. 

Stripling then scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-2 as things went from bad to worse for the Jaguars. 

Ard then notched his second and third RBIs of the inning with a single to center field. His base hit completed a run in which the Nighthawks sent nine batters to the plate and scored nine runs all without recording an out. 

UNG held its 9-2 lead into the sixth inning when Ard recorded yet another RBI single to make it 10-2. 

Augusta scored two more runs in the seventh inning but freshman shortstop Jake Prince capped off the game's scoring with a two-run single to right field. 

The 12-4 victory eliminated the Jaguars from the tournament and put the Nighthawks through to the semifinals against fourth-seeded Columbus State (CSU). 

—

The Cougars were the only conference foe to hand UNG a loss in the opening game of a series in the regular season. In the first meeting of the postseason, the Nighthawks needed a victory over CSU to force a second game in the semifinals. 

Despite a run from the Cougars in the top of the first inning, an RBI single from Prince and sac fly from Skipper gave UNG an early 2-1 lead in the must-win game.

Skipper padded the lead in the third inning with an RBI knock through the right side of the infield put the Nighthawks up 3-1. 

CSU then tied the game in the top of the fourth inning with a two-run single from Jackson Chizek. 

Prince scored on a wild pitch in the fifth inning to break the tie and make it a 4-3 game. 

With one out in the frame and a runner still at third base, senior left fielder Jorge Arispuro roped a single into left field, giving UNG a two-run lead.

A bases loaded walk to Ard in the sixth inning added a key insurance run for the Nighthawks. That run would prove to be the difference in the game as a two-run home run from Cayden Evans made it a 6-5 game the next inning. 

Skipper completed one of his best games of the season in the bottom of the seventh inning as he smashed his second home run of the season over the left field wall. The blast lifted UNG to the 7-5 win and capped off a 2-for-3, three RBI performance for Skipper. 

With the victory, the Nighthawks forced a decisive final game in the first weekend of the PBC Tournament. UNG will face the Cougars in the win-or-go-home showdown Monday, May 5 at 1 p.m. from Bob Stein Stadium. The winner will face Lander in the PBC Championship series May 9-11.