Due West, S.C.----The Erskine College Flying Fleet opened the bottom of the ninth inning with back-to-back solo homers Friday afternoon, rallying for a 7-6 victory over visiting Wingate University in NCAA Division II baseball action. Erskine improves to 34-17 overall, while the Bulldogs fall to 32-23 on the year.
Richard Dix had a homer and three RBI to lead the Erskine attack.
Zach Smith was three-for-five with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored, while
Sam Cothran and
Joey Wilson also homered for the Flying Fleet.
Sophomore infielder
Shane Billings (Kernersville, N.C.) was four-for-six with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored to lead the Wingate offense. Freshman
Bradley Brown (Rockingham, N.C.) drove in a pair of runs, while Sophomore
Colby Barnette (Monroe, N.C.) had a pair of hits and an RBI for the Bulldogs. Senior shortstop
Michael Godinez (Cutler Bay, Fla.) contributed two hits and two runs scored.
Billings led off the game with a single. He would then score on Brown's RBI groundout to give the 'Dogs a 1-0 lead. Wingate added two more runs in the third. Brown plated the first run with an RBI single, while junior
Nick Triplett (Shelby, N.C.) drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 3-0.
Erskine got on the board in the fifth when Wilson led off the frame with a solo homer. The Flying Fleet scored three in the sixth to take the lead. After a pair of singles to start the inning, Dix connected on a three-run homer to give Erskine a 4-3 advantage. Smith's RBI single in the seventh pushed the lead to two.
Wingate scored three times in the eighth to regain the lead. Billings tied the game with his 10th homer of the season, a two-run shot to make it 5-5. Godinez followed with a single, then scored on Barnette's RBI single to give the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead.
Cothran led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a solo homer to tie the game. Smith followed with a walk-off solo shot, giving Erskine the 7-6 victory.
JR Black got the win, moving to 1-0 on the year. He tossed one hitless inning, notching a strikeout. Junior right-hander
Dusty Ayscue (Louisburg, N.C.) took the loss, falling to 0-1. He allowed two runs on two hits on the day.
The Bulldogs and Flying Fleet are back in action Saturday, playing at 12 p.m. The teams were originally scheduled to play a doubleheader, but it will now be just one contest. After this weekend, the Bulldogs will begin play in the NCAA Southeast Regionals on May 14.