BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Senior Anthony Hausner roped a walk-off two-run home run to right field in the bottom of the ninth while giving the Gardner-Webb (22-27) baseball team a dramatic come-from-behind 10-9 win over visiting Bradley (9-41) on Friday evening at John Henry Moss Stadium.
Gardner-Webb struck first in the opening inning when Kelvin Agosto scored on a wild pitch, giving the Runnin' Bulldogs an early 1–0 lead. Bradley answered in the second with a run of its own before breaking the game open in the third inning. The Braves plated five runs on a string of hits to move ahead 6–1 and put the home team in an early hole.
The Bulldogs began chipping away in the bottom of the third when Thad Ector drove in a run to trim the deficit to four. Gardner-Webb then seized momentum in the fourth inning, scoring three runs to pull within 6–5. Alejandro Sanchez started the scoring with a solo shot to right before Ryan Kennell and Hausner both scored on wild pitches, applying pressure to the Bradley pitching staff.
Kennell knotted the score at 6-all in the bottom half of the fifth after driving in Sanchez with a solid single to left center.
After Bradley pushed two more runs across in the sixth to regain the lead at 8-6, Gardner-Webb responded immediately in the bottom half. Agosto provided an RBI hit before Matt Ilgenfritz doubled home the tying run.
Bradley pushed across a single run in the eighth, but Gardner-Webb's bullpen steadied the game down the stretch. Jerek Hobb took over on the mound and delivered a dominant performance, striking out seven batters across 3.2 innings while allowing just one run to keep the Runnin' Bulldogs within striking distance.
Trailing 9–8 entering the bottom of the ninth, Gardner-Webb mounted the decisive rally. The Braves looked poised to keep Gardner-Webb off the scoreboard after throwing a runner out at home, but Hausner answered with his second long ball of the season, capping the win.
Kennell led the Gardner-Webb offense with a 4-for-5 performance and two runs scored, while Sanchez added two hits including his home run. Hausner drove in a team-high two runs while the Runnin' Bulldogs finished the game with 12 hits.
Gardner-Webb returns to action on Saturday, May 9, facing Campbell at 11 a.m. before taking on Bradley in the night-cap with a first pitch time slated for 7 p.m. Campbell and Bradley will also play a neutral site contest at 3 p.m. tomorrow.
