Belmont, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs erased an early 4-0 deficit Tuesday afternoon, outscoring Belmont Abbey 5-0 in the final five innings to earn a 5-4 10-inning victory in NCAA Division II baseball action. Wingate wins its third straight game, improving to 5-7 overall. The Crusaders fall to 7-6 on the season.

Redshirt freshman outfielder Joseph Mason (Morehead City, N.C.) and sophomore catcher Micah Goodwin (Rougemont, N.C.) each homered to lead the Wingate attack, while sophomore Andrew Llewellyn (Moseley, Va.) added a hit and an RBI for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Zach Little (Troutman, N.C.) went three-for-four with two runs scored, while sophomore Matthew Grecco (Norfolk, Va.) added a hit and a run scored.

Nick Beinlich homered for Belmont Abbey, while Robert Lathrop added a hit and an RBI for the Crusaders. Matt McCarry also drove in a run, while Kayden Krause and Kevin Elefante each contributed a hit and a run scored.

Belmont Abbey scored three times in the second inning to take an early lead. A single and walk put two on for Lathrop, who plated the first run with an RBI single. Back-to-back errors allowed two more runs to score in the frame, giving the Crusaders a 3-0 advantage.

Belmont Abbey took a 4-0 lead when Beinlich led off the bottom of the third with a solo homer.

Wingate got on the board in the top of the fifth, when Mason led off the frame with a solo shot to left. The redshirt freshman is tied for the team lead with three homers this season.

The Bulldogs struck again in the sixth when Little reached on a one-out double, then scored on an RBI single from Llewellyn, making it 4-2.

Wingate scored twice in the eighth to tie it. Goodwin started the frame by connecting on his third homer of the year, a solo shot down the left field line to make it a one-run game. Little followed with a single, then advanced on a bunt and scored on an error to tie it.

The Bulldogs took their first lead in the top of the 10th. Grecco started it with a single down the left field line, then moved to second on a bunt. He moved to third on a wild pitch, then scored on a squeeze bunt from Ty Andrus (Winston-Salem, N.C.) to make it 5-4.

Senior right-hander Brandon Donahue (Charlotte, N.C.) shut down Belmont Abbey in the bottom of the inning, retiring the Crusaders in order to move to 2-2 on the year. He did not allow a hit in 1 2/3 innings, striking out two. Freshman Alex Rodriguez (Kannapolis, N.C.), along with sophomores Jimmy Doolittle (Charlotte, N.C.) and Lane Wildman (Virginia Beach, Va.) combined to throw 4 2/3 shutout innings, allowing just one hit. Ross Garrett took the loss, falling to 0-1. He allowed a run on three hits in 1 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking one.

The Bulldogs are back in action Saturday, opening a three-game series against Shippensburg with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on ESPN3.