Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan picked up a walk-off non-conference victory over the USC Aiken Pacers on Wednesday in a 3-2 final score.
The Warriors picked up three hits off the bats of
Marcerio Allen,
Chance Fogel and
Marty Grisso. Fogel doubled and Grisso picked up his second home run of the season. Southern Wesleyan walked four times and
Travis Hammond stole a base.
Mikah Gustavson started on the mound for Southern Wesleyan and pitched four innings. Six Warriors came in to pitch in relief.
Andrew Patterson led the team with three of the six strikeouts.
Sandy Johnson closed out the game on the mound and picked up his first win of the season.
Game Vitals
Final: Southern Wesleyan 3, USC Aiken 2
Records: Southern Wesleyan (7-8) USC Aiken (9-5)
Coach Robinson says…
"Big team win to keep the momentum going into the second conference weekend of the season. Pitching staff did a great job keeping us in the game and allowed us to come up clutch in the final inning. Awesome win for our program and this team!"
How It Happened
The Warriors and Pacers battled it out on the mound for the first four innings as
Mikah Gustavson and Espinoza took part in a pitcher's dual.
USC Aiken took the first runs of game in the top of the fifth inning. With the bases loaded, Hannon singled to bring two runs in to score to give the Pacers the early lead.
Southern Wesleyan countered in the bottom of the inning as
Marty Grisso drilled the ball over the left field wall to allow the Warriors to cut the Pacers lead in half.
The Warriors stayed focused in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Travis Hammond led off the inning by reaching first on a walk and then stole second base to put him in scoring position.
Chance Fogel followed with a walk to put two on.
Blayze Haddock came in to pinch hit and hit into a fielder's choice. However, both Fogel and Hammond were able to beat out the tags to load up the base.
Josh Long was hit by a pitch to bring Hammond in to score and tie the game. With one out and the bases loaded,
Cam Mitchem walked in the winning run to allow Southern Wesleyan to claim a 3-2 run victory.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will travel to Belmont, NC on March 3 and 4 as they resume Conference Carolinas action against the Belmont Abbey Crusaders. They will then travel to Dahlonega, GA to take on the University of North Georgia Nighthawks on March 7 at 4 p.m. The Warriors will take on the King Tornado in Bristol, TN on March 10-11. They will then return home on March 14 to host the Georgia College Bobcats at 4 p.m.
