Eagles sweep doubleheader with pair of walk offs

CARY, N.C. — Wake Tech baseball picked up two crucial conference wins on Saturday afternoon, walking off against Patrick & Henry not once but twice, both plays the result of errors from the Patriots. The wins improved the Eagles' record to 17-20 (11-15), and kept them alive in the race for a top four finish in the Region 10 DII West division, which is needed to qualify for the Region 10 Tournament next month. 

Game one: Wake Tech 5, Patrick & Henry 4 (12 innings)

Patrick & Henry scored first, putting up three runs in the third inning on an RBI single and a two-run home run. Those were the only runs allowed by starter Grayson McDonald, who finished with: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.

The Eagles put up a crooked number of their own in the bottom of the fourth, after a Nick Schultz double scored Cameron Rickabaugh and Blake Russell. They tied it in the fifth after Jentz Steiner led off the inning with a double, and when Brendan Fulcher tried to bunt him over to third, an errant throw from the pitcher allowed Fulcher to reach and Steiner to score. 

Neither team scored until the 12th inning, with both sides deep into their bullpen. 

Patrick & Henry took a 4-3 lead when a run was walked home, and it looked like they would take the opening game when they had the Eagles down to their final out in the bottom of the 12th. Jackson Jones picked up a two-out hit, moving Rickabaugh, the tying run, into scoring position. During the next at bat, a wild pitch moved both runners up 90 feet, but when the catcher tried to get Rickabaugh at third, the throw went into left field, scoring both Rickabaugh and Jones, ending the game. 

Timothy Pate put together one of his best outings of the season, throwing three shutout innings in relief and striking out four.

Game two: Wake Tech 6, Patrick & Henry 5

Patrick & Henry was first on the board again in game two, putting up four runs in the third inning. 

Nick Schultz got one back to make it 4-1 with a sac fly in the bottom half. 

The Eagles' big inning came in the bottom of the fifth, when they scored three to tie the game. Colton Mayes led things off with a pinch hit single. Rickabaugh then reached base on a fielder's choice, although no outs were recorded due to a throwing error from the Patriots' first basemen. Jones loaded the bases with an infield single. Mayes scored on a wild pitch, and the other runners were now in scoring position. A Blake Gaffney ground out drove home Rickabaugh, and a Schultz single scored Jones. 

Schultz finished with 4 RBI across both games. 

Patrick & Henry took the lead on an RBI single in the top of the seventh, and the Eagles needed a rally once again. 

Jones got things started with a one-out walk. Then Gaffney was hit by pitch before being lifted by pinch runner Lucas Witt. Just two weeks ago, Witt scored the winning run as a pinch runner against Catawba Valley. 

Schultz came up again with another chance to do damage, and flew out to move both runners up 90 feet. Davis Reed stepped in with the Eagles down to their final out, and hit a grounder to the right side of the infield. Another Patrick & Henry error meant Reed was safe at first, and both runners came around to score, ending the game. 

Lucas Witt was the winning run once again in this series-clinching victory. 

Aidan Warnock came through with another big outing in relief, throwing three shutout innings. Josh Murphy struck out the side in the seventh despite allowing the go-ahead run, and he ended up with the win. 

The Eagles will look to sweep the series on Sunday against Patrick & Henry, with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 in Cary. The game will be streamed on YouTube.