HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Birmingham-Southern scored nine runs over the final two innings to secure a 12-10 victory over second-ranked Washington & Jefferson on the opening day of the six-team, double-elimination NCAA Division III Regionals at Truist Point in High Point, N.C. 
 
W&J entered the top of the eighth inning with a 4-3 lead and just six outs away from a potential opening-game win. However, Birmingham-Southern scored six runs in the eighth inning and added three additional runs in the ninth to record the victory. 

The loss drops the Presidents to 36-2 overall. W&J will face Marymount University in an elimination game on Friday morning. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m. 
 
Birmingham-Southern, who was the runner-up at the 2019 Division III World Series, improves to 26-14 overall and will face the winner of the La Grange/Lynchburg game on Friday at 6 p.m.
 
Birmingham-Southern took an early lead with a run in the top of the first inning. Luke DePiero opened the game with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. A groundout to the right side moved DePiero to third base and then an RBI groundout by Drew Love scored DePiero to give the Panthers a 1-0 advantage.  
 
The Presidents put a runner into scoring position in the second, third and fourth innings but were unable to score the tying run. 
 
Birmingham-Southern used a two-run home run by Jack Fleming to extend its lead to 3-0 in the top of the sixth inning. 
 
W&J's offense found life in the bottom of the sixth. An RBI single by Peter Kalinski (Washington, D.C./Saint John's College) scored Jason Gregovits (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake) to cut the Birmingham-Southern lead to 3-1. 
 
The very next batter, Presidents' Athletic Conference Player of the Year Adam Morris (South Park, Pa./South Park), drilled a towering home run to left center field to even the score at 3-3. The home run was the seventh of the season for Morris.
 
Adam Moore (Olean, N.Y./Archbishop Walsh) then reached via a hit by pitch and Michael Zito (Nashville, Tenn./Hume-Fogg) followed with a one-out double to put a pair in scoring position. A throwing error by BSC scored Moore to give the Presidents a 4-3 lead after six innings.
 
After a scoreless seventh inning, the score remained 4-3 entering the eighth. BSC tallied nine runs over the next two frames to take a commanding 12-4 advantage. 
 
Down to its last three outs, W&J battled in the bottom of the ninth. The Presidents scored six runs to cut the deficit to 12-10 before the Panthers finished off the victory. 
 
The first five Presidents reached base in ninth. Moore produced the big hit of the frame with a three-run home run to left. The blast was the fourth of the season for Moore. 
 
Henry Litman (Marietta, Ga./Walton) earned the start and tossed seven strong innings while picking up a no-decision. The junior righty allowed three runs and scattered eight hits. 
 
Zito suffered the loss on the mound. The senior falls to 1-2 in 2021. Horvat and Morris finished with two hits apiece during a nine-hit effort by W&J.