Box Score WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Winston-Salem State pounded out 13 hits, but it was the4 last one that made the difference, Willie McRae singled past the shortstop with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the WSSU Rams a 6-5 walk-off win in the series finale on Sunday at BB&T Ballpark.
The win moves Winston-Salem State to 8-11 overall, while Concord falls to 3-8 on the season.
Concord scored first, on a rbi single to left field in the top of the first inning to give the Mountain Lions the early 1-0 lead.
In the second inning, Connor Bodenhamer doubled to left field, and would be brought home on a Randy Norris triple down the right field line to tie the game. Jason Baytop would hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Bodenhamer, to give the Rams a 2-1 advantage.
In the fourth inning, Jason Baytop reached on a fielder's choice and would eventually be brought home on a Nathan Steger single to right field to push the Rams lead to 3-1.
The Concord Mountain Lions answered with two runs in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game at 3-3.
The Rams added another run in the fifth inning, after Michael McNamara started the inning with a walk, and would be brought home later in the inning on a Phillip Page single to give the Rams a 4-3 lead.
WSSU looked to put the game away in the sixth, when Nathan Steger scored on a Ivan Acuna single to center field, giving the Rams a 5-3 lead, heading into the late innings.
But once again, the Mountain Lions were resilient, and battled back with a big two-run double in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game at 5-5 heading into the ninth inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, Ivan Acuna led off with a walk and advanced to second on a bunt from Phillip Page. Emilio Abreu would pinch run for Acuna, and the bases would become loaded on an error from the Concord pitcher fielding a come backer, setting the stage for the late game heroics. Willie McRae would single over the shortstops head, allowing Page to score and giving the WSSU Rams the walk-off 6-5 win.
Jordan Cummings picked up the win for WSSU, throwing one pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning to get the Rams out of the inning with score still tied. Devin McLemore pitched 5.0 innings, allowing eight hits and three runs. Tyler Scearce went 2.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits, and Kanoa Hironaka pitched one inning, allowing one hit.
The Rams were led at the plate by Phillip Page, who finished 3 for 5 with one run scored and one run batted in. Randy Norris went 2 for 5 with one run scored and one run batted in, while Landon Steiner also finished 2 for 5.Jason Baytop, Willie McRae, Brandon Fowler, Nathan Steger, Ivan Acuna and Conner Bodenhamer each had one hit each. Baytop and Steger each scored one run scored and had one run batted in. Michael McNamara and Bodenhamer each scored a run. Randy Norris also had a triple and Bodenhamer a double.
Winston-Salem State will host Lock Haven University on Tuesday evening at BB&T Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00pm. You can view live stats at http://hbculivestats.com/wssu/baseball and view the video broadcast at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wssu-rams-sports-network.