Augusta knocks off No. 13 North Georgia in the quarterfinals of PBC tournament

Justin Gray | Sports editor

The Augusta University baseball team took down the Peach Belt Conference’s No. 1 seed North Georgia, 4-0, in the quarterfinals of the Peach Belt Conference tournament on Friday, May 2, in Dahlonega. 

If the sport of baseball could be depicted in one example, this would be the one. 

A little over a month ago, the Nighthawks of North Georgia rolled into Augusta and scored 55 runs in three games en route to a sweep. 

In that series, UNG tallied 54 hits as a team, averaging 18 a game. 

Fast forward to Friday’s game and Augusta pitcher Garrett Wright held them to just three over nine innings pitched and allowed zero runs. 

The sophomore from Richmond Hill was as dominant in this one as we’ve seen from a Jag pitcher all season. 

This opening game began at 11 a.m., but did not go final until after 6 o’clock due to a long weather delay. 

Wright threw two and two-thirds innings before the delay, and most of the time the starter will come out after a delay of this length, but we didn’t see that as Wright came back in for the final 6 and a third innings. 

It was a true warrior mentality from the young left-handed starter. 

As for the offense, it was led by junior Nolan Turner, who led off the game with a solo home run. 

He added two more RBI on a single in the second inning, giving the Jaguars the 3-0 lead. 

Zach Kwiatkowski left the yard in the fourth inning and that was the last run that came across the plate. 

This was by far the biggest win of the season for Augusta and one of the biggest we’ve seen from the program in the last decade. 

“This was the best win since I've been here at Augusta,” said Coach Chris Howell. “This group played relaxed and confident. I didn’t even say much to them pre-game because they had a confident look in their eye. I’m happy for our guys to experience that feeling tonight.”

The Jaguars don’t have long to enjoy this one as it’s time to turn their focus to the winner’s bracket game against the winner of Columbus State and Georgia Southwestern at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 3. 

You can watch the Jaguars play on the Peach Belt Sports Network.