DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team claimed sole possession of first place in the Peach Belt Conference thanks to a 12-9 victory over Lander at Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park Friday night.

The win over the Bearcats (20-8, 8-2 Peach Belt) moves the Nighthawks to 19-8 on the year with a 9-1 record in conference play. 

Friday's win started in the first inning as UNG answered an early one-run deficit with a pair of runs on an RBI groundout from senior third baseman Riley Frost and sophomore left fielder Kyle Robitzsch.

In the third inning, redshirt junior first baseman did what he does best. The slugger launched a two-run home run over the left field wall to give the Nighthawks a 4-1 advantage. 

Ard leads the league with 11 homers on the season. He's also recorded 50 RBI in just 27 games which not only leads the conference but also ranks second in all of NCAA Division-II. 

Despite trailing 4-1, Lander went on a scoring run that started in the fourth inning with a solo homer from Will McClellan to make it 4-2. 

An RBI single from Evan Wickeri made it just a one-run game in the fifth inning. 

In the bottom half of the frame, UNG exploded for seven runs to essentially put the game out of reach. 

The inning started with a walk, hit batter and a single to load the bases for senior second baseman Brady Skipper who was subsequently hit by a pitch to bring in a run. 

With no outs and the bases still loaded, senior catcher Bryson Stripling beat out a ground ball to short to make it 6-3.

An error then allowed junior center fielder Andrews Opata to reach and another run to come in to expand the lead to four. 

Freshman shortstop Jake Prince added an RBI on a sacrifice fly to left field as Skipper raced home. 

With the bases loaded once more, Robitzsch reached first base on an error from Lander shortstop Cooper Backman that allowed both Opata and Stripling to score to make it 10-3.

Redshirt freshman Nicholas Stinson added the final run of the inning on a double to left center that brought in Frost.

The Bearcats continued their comeback effort and scoring streak with lone runs in the sixth and seventh innings before adding two more in the eighth to make it an 11-8 ballgame. 

Senior right fielder Jorge Arispuro added an insurance run in the eighth inning with an RBI single to left center that brought in Stinson. 

Lander would get one more run in the ninth but it would not be enough as graduate left-handed pitcher Zach Green held on and closed the game for his second save of the season.

UNG and the Bearcats will square off in game two of the series at Bob Stein Stadium tomorrow, Saturday, March 22 with a 2 p.m. first pitch.