South Georgia State College’s love affinity for walk-off wins continued on Thursday. The Hawks defeated the Gordon State College Highlanders 11-10 in 10 innings at George Cook Stadium in Douglas. After two and half innings, the Hawks were down 7-1 and battled back to pull out the improbable victory
Gordon scored seven runs over the first three innings then added two in the fifth and another in the eighth. The Hawks, meanwhile, moved at a much more methodical and deliberate pace. They scored one in the second, two in the third, two in the fourth, two in the sixth, and three in the eighth to tie the game at 10. They plated the game winner in the bottom of the 10th for the win.
Trailing 9-5 in the sixth, the Hawks inched a little closer when Luke Boone hit a two-out two-run home run to get within two. Down by three in the eighth, SGSC scored one when Jesse Brown singled to score Jaden Camp, who led off the inning with a double. Enrique Castillo tied the game at 10 when, with two outs, he doubled on a 3-2 pitch to score Brown and Payton Bryant.
Neither team scored in the ninth, forcing extra innings. The Highlanders didn’t do much in the top of the 10th. In the bottom of the inning, Luke Flading led off with a single. He advanced to second on a passed ball during Bryant’s at-bat. Neither Bryant nor Chaz Encarnacion were able to move Flading beyond second. With two outs, Castillo stepped back into the box. After throwing ball one to Castillo, Gordon’s pitcher attempted to pick off Flading at second. The ball got away and Flading scored for the game winner.
Brown was 4-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Tanner Langley, Boone, Flading, Bryant, Encarnacion, and Castillo each collected two hits. Boone also drove in four. SGSC’s fourth pitcher of the day, Carson Ward, grabbed the win with a two-inning outing.
The Hawks are 22-23 on the season and have a rematch today with the Highlanders at Gordon.