BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb plated four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the comeback effort fell short, falling to Wright State by a 8-6 score on Wednesday afternoon.
Trailing 8-2 as play headed to the bottom half of the ninth inning, Gardner-Webb (3-7) got its first baserunner when Matt Simmons reached on a walk with one out. A single by Mickey Dugan in the next at-bat, followed by a fly ball by Mason Fox to centerfield that set runners on the corners with two outs.
Collin Thacker stepped up to the plate next, driving the ball up the middle to score Simmons and advanced Dugan all the way to third base. That was followed by back-to-back doubles by Danny Sullivan and Chandler Redmond to drive in three runs to pull the Diamond 'Dogs within two runs.
Wright State (4-4) would then send in reliever Mitch Gremling, who would walk Luke Kasemeyer to put runners on first and second, but Gremling would draw a groundout from Paul Trick in the following at-bat to close the game.
The Runnin' Bulldogs plated the first run of the afternoon in the bottom of the second inning as Chris Clary drove the first pitch he saw to left field to send Kasemeyer home from second base.
The Raiders would respond in the top of the fourth inning, loading the bases with one out, and then would score two runs on a single to centerfield by Gabe Snyder.
Wright State would tack on another run in the top of the fifth, and score four additional runs in the top of the seventh to take control of the game. They would also add a run in the top of the ninth after a throwing error, just before Gardner-Webb began its comeback effort.
Gardner-Webb collected 13 base hits throughout the afternoon, led by Thacker who was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, driving in one run while scoring twice. Also collecting multiple base hits for the Diamond 'Dogs were Dugan (2-for-5), Sullivan (2-for-4, 2B, RBI), Redmond (2-for-5, 3 RBI), and Kasemeyer (2-for-4).
Wright State had a total of 10 hits, led by JD Orr, Seth Gray, Alex Alders, and Adrian Marquez, who each had two base knocks.
Trevor Swaney was awarded the win for the Raiders, lasting 4.2 innings with two strikeouts while allowing two runs. Gremling earned the save, recoring the final out.
Landon Mitchell took the loss for Gardner-Webb, hurling 6.0 innings with six strikeouts, while allowing two earned runs.
Gardner-Webb returns to action this Friday afternoon at 4:00 pm, hosting UMBC in the first game of a three-game weekend series.
