YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. — Jace Wilson’s walk-off walk in the bottom of the 10th inning drove in the winning run as 13th-ranked Young Harris rallied to a 12-11 win over visiting Tusculum Wednesday afternoon at Zell Miller Field.
The Mountain Lions (10-1) rallied from a 10-4 deficit, scoring three times in the sixth and four more times in the seventh to take an 11-10 lead. Tusculum tied the game on Ben Scartz‘s RBI single in the eighth.
In the bottom of the 10th Jeremy Begora reached on an error to start the inning. Harris Celata and Jack Enrico were both hit by pitches to load the bases with no outs. Wilson would draw the game-winning walk to cap the comeback.
Young Harris jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning as the Lions batted around. Tusculum tied the game in the bottom of the second thanks to a two-run home run by Max Schmarder and Jaden Singleton reached on a single and later score on Zach Wilson sacrifice fly to level the score at 3-3.
YHC’s Drew Brey led off the second with a solo home run to retake the lead at 4-3. Tusculum answered in the fifth as 12 Pioneers went to the plate and scored seven runs to take a 10-4 lead. TU posted six hits in the frame including a grand slam by Jake Absher and a two-run homer off the bat of Will Samuelson.
The Mountain Lions scored three times in the sixth on a RBI double from Begora and a two-out, two-run single from Steve Spell to trim the deficit to 10-7.
YHC batted around for the second time in the game and scored four runs in the seventh to take an 11-10 advantage to set the table for the final innings.
The Lions finished the game with 14 hits, including a 4-for-5 performance from Bray and Jarret Ford and Spell each had three-hit outings.
Tusculum tallied a dozen hits as Schmarder, Wilson, Scartz and Zane Keener each had two-hit games.
The Lions utilized six pitchers on the afternoon with Dylan Beck improving to 4-0 with the win as he pitched the final three innings, allowed two hits, one unearned run and struck out four in his 39-pitch effort.
TU reliever Drew Sliwinski (1-1) suffered his first loss as he allowed one hit, one walk and an unearned run.
Tusculum returns home on Friday to host Catawba College in the first game of a weekend South Atlantic Conference series at Pioneer Park.
