Wingate, N.C.----The Lander University Bearcats jumped out to an 8-3 lead Tuesday night, then held on for a 9-8 victory at Wingate University in NCAA Division II baseball action at Ron Christopher Stadium and Plyler Athletic Field. The Bearcats improve to 30-13 on the season, while the Bulldogs fall to 21-21 overall.

KEY STATS

- Lander out-hit Wingate 13-10
- The Bearcats had six of the seven extra-base hits with both homers
- The Bulldogs left 13 on base; Lander stranded eight
- The 'Dogs had all six stolen bases
- The Bearcats committed the lone error
- LU pitching struck out 11 and walked 10; WU had six strikeouts and three walks

KEY BULLDOGS

- Cam Harris, Wyatt Hoffman and Jake Courville each had a hit and two RBI
- Breon Ishmael added two hits and drove in a run
- Jordan Dixon was two-for-four with a double and a run scored
- Gavin Groppuso added a hit, two stolen bases and a pair of runs scored
- Jalen Evans contributed two hits, three stolen bases and a run scored
- Cal Riehl tossed 1 2/3 shutout frames with a strikeout
- Carson Starnes added a scoreless inning of work with a strikeout

SECOND INNING

- A Mario Lopez RBI groundout gave Lander an early 1-0 lead

THIRD INNING

- Evans led off the inning with a single, then stole second
- Back-to-back walks loaded the bases
- Ishmael's RBI single tied it at one
- Groppuso scored on a wild pitch; a Hoffman sacrifice fly gave WU a 3-1 lead

FOURTH INNING

- Connor Droze led off the frame with a solo homer
- Another Lopez RBI groundout tied it at three
- A Cooper Backman RBI groundout gave the Bearcats a 4-3 advantage

FIFTH INNING

- A two-run homer from Droze gave Lander a 6-3 lead

SIXTH INNING

- Grant Sherrod's two-run single stretched the advantage to five at 8-3

SEVENTH INNING

- Courville was hit by a pitch to start the inning, then moved to third on Dixon's double
- A two-run single from Harris made it 8-5

EIGHTH INNING

- A walk and Groppuso single put two on for the Bulldogs
- Courville's two-run single made it a one-run game
- Hoffman's RBI single plated Courville, tying it at eight

NINTH INNING

- Lopez put Lander back on top with a two-out RBI double, making it 9-8
- Evans and Groppuso drew walks in the bottom of the frame, then moved to second and third on stolen bases with one out
- A strikeout and groundout ended the contest

WRAPUP

- Joshua Sanchez got the win, allowing two hits in two-thirds of an inning without giving up a run
- Richie Cortese worked a scoreless ninth to earn the save
- Talan McConnell took the loss, allowing a run on two hits in one inning of work

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Friday, hosting Limestone at 6 p.m.