BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Ferrum College erased a one-run deficit with four runs in the seventh inning Monday afternoon and the Panthers went on to defeat Bridgewater College 11-5 in a non-conference baseball game.
Ferrum (16-11) got on the board in the top of the first on Ty Comer's solo homer, but the Eagles evened the score with a run in the bottom of the first.
Derrik Walling led off and reached on an error, but was out at second on Dylan Horne's grounder. Horne stole second base and Darren Yoder followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Kenner Berry walked to load the sacks before a sacrifice fly by Dustin Garst plated Horne to tie the score at 1-1.
Bridgewater (14-7-1) added a run in the second to take the lead. Jake Bailey led off with a walk and scored on Josh Lasam's one-out double to give the Eagles a 2-1 advantage.
Ferrum tied the score at 2-2 on Comer's RBI-single in the third, but Bridgewater regained the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Cavin Clyde led off the Eagles' fourth with a double and moved to third on Lasam's single. The duo then executed a double steal with Clyde scoring to put the Eagles on top 3-2. Walling was then hit by a pitch to put two runners on base. Horne's grounder forced Walling at second, leaving runners at first and third. Lasam scored on an errant pickoff attempt at first, giving the Eagles a 4-2 lead.
The Panthers scored in the fifth to pull within a run. Adam Duncan reached on an error to lead off the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Duncan raced home on a single by Comer, cutting the BC lead to 4-3.
Ferrum scored four times in the top of the seventh to take the lead for good. Jake Irvin walked to lead off the inning and Duncan singled to left. The runners moved up on a wild pitch and Irvin scored on Kyle Hall's grounder that was booted for an error. Comer followed with his second-homer of the game, this one a three-run shot, to give the Panthers a 7-4 lead.
The Eagles plated one run in the bottom of the seventh and had the potential tying runs in scoring position. Yoder tripled to lead off the inning and Berry walked. Yoder scored when Garst's grounder was misplayed for an error as the Eagles pulled to within 7-5. Brendan Howell's sac bunt moved the runners to second and third, but a fly ball to shallow left and a strikeout ended the Eagles threat.
The Panthers put the game away with a single run in the eighth inning and three more runs in the ninth to close out the 11-5 victory.
Yoder finished the contest with three hits and Lasam added two as the duo combined for five of Bridgewater's eight base hits. Bridgewater committed five errors, leading to five unearned runs for Ferrum.
Comer's four hits and six RBIs led Ferrum's 10-hit attack.