MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The No. 14 University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team secured its eighth win in the last nine games with a 15-7 road victory at Georgia College (GCSU) Friday night.

The Nighthawks (35-12, 22-3 Peach Belt) moved one step closer to securing the program's first Peach Belt Conference Regular-season title since 2019 with the victory over the Bobcats (28-20, 18-7).

With the victory, UNG mitigated the chance for GCSU to usurp one of the top two spots in the league – and thus hosting rights in the PBC Tournament – as the Bobcats needed a sweep in the series to overtake the Nighthawks who secured tournament hosting rights themselves as they can now finish no worse than second in the conference. 

While second-place Lander (35–13, 21-4) defeated Georgia Southwestern 3-2 Friday as well, UNG's win keeps it one-game ahead of the Bearcats in the league standings. 

Now a win over GCSU in game two of the series will clinch at least a share of the 2025 PBC Regular-season title.

On Friday, junior center fielder Andrews Opata started the game with a bang as his lead-off solo home run in the first inning gave the Nighthawks an early 1-0 lead.

The lead was quickly relinquished, however, as the Bobcats plated a run in the first inning and two more in the second to pull ahead 3-1. 

In the top of the third, Opata reached base again with a two-out single before stealing second base. He then scored after junior shortstop Jace Bowen barreled the ball to right field for an RBI triple. 

Bowen's knock sparked a two-out rally. He later scored on a wild pitch before three RBI singles gave the Nighthawks a 6-3 lead with five runs in the inning. All five runs were scored with two outs.

UNG added a run in the fifth with an RBI single from Opata who was sensational on the day. The center fielder went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBIs as he reached base five times in six plate appearances. His lead-off homer marked his 11th of the season which is second-most on the team.

An RBI groundout from Evan Cowan gave the Bobcats their fourth run of the game. It would be the final run scored against Nighthawk starter Matthew Heard. The junior right-handed pitcher threw seven innings with just six hits, four runs, three walks and eight strikeouts in his third start of the season.

With a 7-4 lead, UNG blew the doors off the game in the seventh inning. 

Senior right fielder Jorge Arispuro led off the frame with his fourth home run of the year. GCSU then conceded a staggering six consecutive walks to the Nighthawks. One of those bases-loaded walks came with redshirt junior Phillip Ard at the plate, giving him his 79th RBI of the season. That mark broke the UNG single season record for most RBIs in a season. The record of 78 set by Richie Daigle stood for 20 years before Ard broke it Friday. The first baseman currently ranks second in the entire country in RBIs this year.

After the second pitching change of the inning, redshirt freshman Nicholas Stinson roped a single into right field to score another two runs, totaling 13 in the game for UNG. The Nighthawks scored six runs in the seventh before recording an out.

That inning was the difference maker as UNG rolled to the win after the big performance. The Bobcats added three more runs in the game, but junior outfielder Edwin Bowman IV added two more runs for the Nighthawks with a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the ninth inning. 

UNG set itself up for success in the remainder of the series by using only two pitchers in Friday's opener. Heard improved his personal record to 5-2 with the win while senior reliever Danile Courtney closed the game with two innings pitched, three runs, two earned runs allowed and three strikeouts. 

Now the Nighthawks can clinch the program's first regular-season championship since 2019 in game two of the series on Saturday, April 26. A win will clinch at least a share of the 2025 title. Paired with a Lander loss, UNG will clinch the outright title for the first time since 2017. First pitch from Milledgeville, Ga. is set for 3 p.m. Nighthawk fans can listen to an audio only broadcast of the game at youtube.com/@ungathletics as the Nighthawk Sports Network will be on the road for the game.