CLINTON, S.C. – Alec Burns hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the eighth inning Sunday and Dalton Wood held off Presbyterian in the ninth to give Gardner-Webb a 9-8 win in the series rubber match.

The Runnin' Bulldogs (26-13, 12-6 Big South) won their second-straight league series and first on the road this season. The game was Gardner-Webb's eighth in a row away from home. GWU has beaten Presbyterian (16-25, 8-10 Big South) in five of the last six meetings between the two schools on the diamond.

Gardner-Webb trailed 7-6 heading into the eighth and tied the game on Curtis Robison's RBI single through the hole. That scored Jacob Marcos, who led off the inning with a single into right field.

After Presbyterian recorded the first out of the inning, Burns stepped in with the game tied and Robison on board. He belted the second pitch off the at bat over the fence in left for a 9-7 lead that would stand.

It was Burns' third home run this season to put Gardner-Webb the lead in the last two innings of a Big South series finale. All three led to one-run wins for the Runnin' Bulldogs.

Wood, who came on in the seventh with one out and two men on board, retired the Blue Hose in order in the bottom of the eighth to keep the two-run cushion intact. After Gardner-Webb was retired in the top half of the ninth, Wood came through to preserve the win, pitching around a hit batter, an error and an RBI single to finish the game.

The two teams went back and forth early on.

Trevor Mattson hit an RBI double into left field to score Peter Capobianco in the second for a 1-0 lead and Nate Anderson laid down a bases loaded bunt to drive home Robison in the second for a 2-0 advantage.

Presbyterian struck for two runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game, and surged in front with two more runs in the fourth. Gardner-Webb had its big inning in the fifth, taking advantage of control problems on the mound for the Blue Hose to score four runs. Jacob McCaskey was plunked with the bases loaded to cut the lead to 4-3 and Capobianco drove home a run with a single into center to tie the score.

Anderson scored on a wild pitch to give Gardner-Webb the lead and Capobianco scored on a wild pitch to the next batter for a 6-4 edge.

The Blue Hose returned the favor in the sixth, taking advantage of an error and three walks to push across its fifth run of the afternoon. Another bases loaded walk tied the score and Brody Fahr's RBI infield single drove home an unearned run to give the Blue Hose a 7-6 lead.

Wood came out of the pen trailing 7-6 in the seventh after a leadoff single and a walk put two men on with just one out. He coaxed two infield flies to get out of the jam and Gardner-Webb took advantage in the eighth to surge back in front.

Wood (1-1) picked up the win in relief, working 2.2 innings and allowing only one run.

Gardner-Webb had 10 hits in the game, with Marcos (2-for-5), Robison (2-for-3), Burns (2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI) and Capobianco (2-for-5, RBI) leading the way. Bo Rusher III (1-for-5) and Mattson (1-for-5, RBI) also had hits.

Presbyterian's Luke Gibson (0-2) was tagged with the loss, allowing three runs in 3.0 innings on three hits.

The Blue Hose also had 10 hits in the rubber match and Chase Hughes went 3-for-4 to pace that effort.

Gardner-Webb will step out of conference next week to close out its 12-game road swing – beginning with a midweek battle at Western Carolina on Tuesday at 5:00 pm (ESPN+). GWU will then head to Atlanta, Ga., for a three-game series at Georgia Tech on April 28-30.