AMERICUS, Ga. — Georgia Southwestern erased a three-run deficit in its final at-bat, storming back with a four-run ninth inning to stun Flagler College, 10-9, in Saturday's Peach Belt Conference clash at Hurricane Stadium.
The Hurricanes (20-21, 12-11 PBC) evened the weekend series after dropping Friday's opener, setting up a rubber game Sunday afternoon.
Early Edge Slips Away
GSW came out aggressive, plating two runs in the first behind RBI efforts from
Josh McDonald and
Kelsen Johnson. The Hurricanes added another in the third and pushed the lead to 4-0 through four innings.
But Flagler answered in a big way in the fourth.
Taking advantage of an error, the Saints erupted for seven runs — six unearned — to flip the game and seize a 7-3 advantage. Despite the damage, starter
Johnny Nutt settled back in and completed six innings, allowing just one earned run while keeping GSW within reach.
Chipping Away
The Hurricanes began to claw back in the middle innings.
An RBI single from
Drake Harman and a run-scoring knock by
Devon Murphy in the sixth trimmed the deficit to 7-6, and the bullpen combination of Nutt and
Jackson Raper kept Flagler quiet into the late innings.
Raper, who would ultimately earn the win, delivered three innings of relief to give GSW a chance to rally.
Ninth-Inning Surge
Flagler added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth, stretching the lead to 9-6 and putting the Hurricanes down to their final three outs.
What followed was the defining stretch of the game.
Murphy opened the inning with a solo home run, his sixth blast of the season, to cut into the deficit. After a single and an error put two runners on,
Samuel Hogue delivered an RBI single to make it 9-8.
Moments later,
Drew Reaves lined a ball down the left-field line, driving in the tying run. With the game on the line,
Caleb Gipson completed the comeback, ripping a walk-off RBI single to left-center to cap the four-run inning and secure the 10-9 victory.
At the Plate
Harman led the way with three hits, recording his 17th multi-hit game of the season while extending his on-base streak to 32 consecutive games.
Murphy matched him with three hits, driving in three runs and sparking the ninth-inning rally with his leadoff homer.
McDonald added three hits and two RBIs, while Gipson finished with two hits, including the game-winning knock.
Next Up
The Hurricanes and Flagler meet in the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m., with the winner claiming the weekend set.
