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Lander University

HOME OF THE LANDER UNIVERSITY BEARCATS #CLAWSUP
10
Winner Lander LANDER 14-6
8
Augusta AUGUSTA 5-17
Winner
Lander LANDER
14-6
10
Final
8
Augusta AUGUSTA
5-17
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Lander LANDER 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 3 2 2 10 18 1
Augusta AUGUSTA 2 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 8 12 1

W: Sloper, Bennett (1-0) L: R. Wright (1-2)

BSB vs Erskine 1/31/25
Bob Stoner

Game Recap: Baseball | | Turner Kirby - Director of Athletic Communications

Lander Completes Five-Run Comeback, Defeats Augusta in 10

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Lander baseball team trailed 8-3 to the Augusta Jaguars with six outs to play, but a pair of home runs from Grant Sherrod (Sumner, Wash.) and Connor Droze (Roebuck, S.C.) helped spark a five-run comeback to send the game to extra innings. A Jackson Hoshour (Sumter, S.C.) single proved to be the difference as the Bearcats came away with a 10-8 victory in Game 1 of the teams' three-game series Friday evening at Jaguar Field.

This was the second straight game in which the Bearcats completed a late comeback to beat the Jaguars 10-8. Last season, Droze hit a two-run homer to tie the game in the ninth, followed by a walk-off two-run homer by Chris Manriquez (Charlotte, N.C.) three batters later to give Lander the series win in the rubber game.

Augusta (5-17, 2-5 PBC) got to Jagger Jefferis (Barnesville, Ohio) early, plating two runs in the first with a two-run shot. Lander (14-6, 3-1 PBC) got a run back in the third with a sacrifice fly from Will McClellan (Anderson, S.C.), but the hosts responded with another two-run homer to extend their lead to 4-1.

RBI singles from Droze and Garrett Chun (Jacksonville, Fla.) brought Lander back within one, 4-3, after five. Jefferis settled in and finished five innings, striking out eight before handing the ball to Kurt Rogers (Westminster, S.C.). Rogers kept the Jaguars off the board in the sixth, but Augusta plated four runs in the seventh against him and Bennett Sloper (Simpsonville, S.C.) to extend its lead to 8-3.

However, just when it seemed the Jaguars were going to pull away, Evan Wickeri (Middleburg, Fla.) beat out a potential inning-ending double play to score Cooper Backman (Sarasota, Fla.), leading to Sherrod's two-run home run that brought Lander back within two.

Sloper only needed four batters to retire the side in the bottom half, keeping the momentum in the Lander dugout. In the ninth, Droze led off with a home run to bring Lander within a run at 8-7.

After a Kyle Murphy (Lake Worth, Fla.) single and Brody Winter (Anderson, S.C.) was hit by a pitch, a double steal put both runners in scoring position. Murphy then scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly from Backman to even the score at 8-8.

Sloper retired the side in order with two strikeouts, giving Lander's surging offense another chance at the plate.

In the 10th, a Sherrod walk and a McClellan single put two runners on. Both moved up 90 feet on a groundout and then scored on Hoshour's single, giving Lander its first lead of the night.

Augusta got a runner on base with a single in the bottom of the 10th, but Sloper faced no further pressure, striking out two more—bringing his total to five in 3.1 innings—to lock down his first win of the season.

The two teams continue their series in Augusta tomorrow at 3 p.m.
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Scoring Summary

Score By Innings
Play LANDER AUGUSTA
AUGUSTA BOT 1st P. Ingram homered, 2 RBI; M. Thigpen scored. 0 2
LANDER TOP 3rd W. McClellan flied out to rf, sacrifice fly, RBI; E. Wickeri scored. 1 2
AUGUSTA BOT 3rd M. Morrison homered, 2 RBI; N. Turner scored. 1 4
LANDER TOP 5th C. Droze singled, advanced to second on an error by c, RBI; G. Sherrod scored. 2 4
LANDER TOP 5th G. Chun singled to right field, RBI; C. Droze scored. 3 4
AUGUSTA BOT 7th P. Ingram flied out to lf, SAC, RBI; M. Thigpen scored. 3 5
AUGUSTA BOT 7th A. Cannaday singled, advanced to second on an error by 1b, RBI; M. Morrison advanced to third; N. Turner scored, unearned. 3 6
AUGUSTA BOT 7th R. Bowles doubled to left field, 2 RBI; A. Cannaday scored; M. Morrison scored. 3 8
LANDER TOP 8th E. Wickeri reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; T. Nakao out at second 2b unassisted; C. Backman scored. 4 8
LANDER TOP 8th G. Sherrod homered, 2 RBI; E. Wickeri scored. 6 8
LANDER TOP 9th C. Droze homered to right field, RBI. 7 8
LANDER TOP 9th C. Backman flied out to rf, sacrifice fly, RBI; B. Winter advanced to third; J. Hoshour scored. 8 8
LANDER TOP 10th J. Hoshour singled to right field, 2 RBI; W. McClellan scored; G. Sherrod scored. 10 8

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