Schott’s blast leads Columbia past Gonzaga 8-2 in Blacksburg

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Hayden Schott belted a three-run home run in a five-run fifth inning and third-seeded Columbia thumped second-seeded Gonzaga 8-2 in the Blacksburg Regional. Locked in a 1-1 tie, the Lions had four straight hits, with an RBI single by Weston Eberly preceding Schott’s blast, his 12th, to right field off of Bulldogs starter Gabe Hughes. Columbia matches up with the winner of Wright State-Virginia Tech, the fourth overall tournament seed, on Saturday after Gonzaga meets the loser. Sean Higgins started for Columbia and gave up two runs, just Tyler Rando’s fifth-inning home run was earned, on six hits with six strikeouts.