BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb (20-24, 8-10) baseball team battled through a back-and-forth contest and walked off with a 7–6 extra-inning victory over the Winthrop Eagles (28-16, 11-4) on Sunday afternoon at John Henry Moss Stadium.
Winthrop jumped out early with two runs in the top of the first, but Gardner-Webb answered immediately in the bottom half with a four-run inning to seize the momentum. The Runnin' Bulldogs strung together timely hits and capitalized on early opportunities, highlighted by a three-run home run from Kelvin Agosto that energized the home dugout and put Gardner-Webb ahead 4–2 after one inning.
Gardner-Webb extended its lead in the fourth inning. Bennett Shealor and Merik Carter each contributed an RBI hit, pushing the Dawgs' advantage to 6–2. Ilgenfritz paced the offense throughout the afternoon, finishing 3-for-5 at the plate, while Carter added two hits and two RBIs.
Winthrop chipped away as the game progressed. The Eagles scored twice in the fifth inning and added another run in the sixth to trim the deficit to one. A sacrifice fly run in the ninth inning tied the game at 6–6 and forced extra innings.
Gardner-Webb's pitching staff worked to keep the game within reach. Reid Bertram started and went four innings, while Colby Humphries bridged the middle portion of the game with 2.2 innings of relief. Colby Putnam delivered a strong finish out of the bullpen, tossing the final 3.1 innings and allowing just one run while keeping the Eagles from taking the lead. Putnam earned the victory and improved to 4–2 on the season.
In the bottom of the 10th, the Runnin' Bulldogs mounted the decisive rally. Ethan Liao got things started with a base hit before moving into scoring position following a Shealor hit through the right side. With two outs, Carter laced a ball to the right-center gap that plated Liao and gave the Dawgs the 7-6 win as well as the series win over the leading team in the Big South.
The Runnin' Bulldogs return to the diamond on Tuesday, April 28 as they travel to nearby Spartanburg, S.C. to take on the Wofford Terriers. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.
