KODAK, Tenn. --- Creighton Wilke hit a tiebreaking three-run home run in the top of the 11th inning to give Tusculum College a 9-6 victory over Wingate University in an elimination game at the Pilot/Flying J South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament Sunday evening at Smokies Stadium.
Jim Tolle added a two-run home run and Devan Watts threw 5 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for the third-seeded Pioneers (34-16), who advanced to play second-seeded Carson-Newman Sunday night for the second time in 11 hours. The victory was the first in extra innings for the Pioneers this season following six losses, two of which came to the Bulldogs (30-20) in a doubleheader on April 2.
Tusculum led 6-2 in the fifth inning, but a three-run home run from Bradley Brown brought the Bulldogs within a run. Austin Turgeon tied the game in the sixth with a solo home run, and the teams remained deadlocked until the 11th.
In the 11th, Kevin Victorino walked with one out and Nick Lacina followed with a single. Wilke then hammered his seventh home run of the season off Wingate reliever Tyler Brown (5-3) to give the Pioneers a 9-6 advantage. The Bulldogs put runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the 11th, but Watts retired Shane Billings on a fly ball to Victoriano in right to end the game.
Tusculum took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first off Wingate starter Hunter Hamilton. J.J. Wesley led off with a single but was erased on a ground ball double play. Victoriano then reached on an infield single, and Lacina and Wilke followed with walks to load the bases. Jordan Huntley became the third straight Pioneer to work a full count, and drew ball four to force home Victoriano with the game's first run.
Wingate came back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first off Tusculum starter Ethan Carpenter, as Billings and Bill Krebs reached on back-to-back singles to start the innings. After a fly out, Colby Barnette delivered an RBI single to knock home Billings and even the game at 1-1. A throwing error on a potential double-play grounder enabled Krebs to score and gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead.
The Pioneers regained the lead in the third with three runs on five hits. Zack Finchum led off with a single, and Victoriano and Lacina followed with bunt hits to load the bases with no outs. Wilke then reached on an error as Finchum scored to tie the game 2-2, and John Topoleski delivered a two-run single to drive home Victoriano and Lacina as the Pioneers went back on top 4-2.
The Pioneers added two more runs in the fifth as Huntley singled with one out, and Tolle delivered his first home run of the season to push Tusculum's lead to 6-2 and chase Hamilton from the mound.
Wingate responded with a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth. Billings singled and Krebs walked on a full count, setting up Brown to hit a three-run homer and cut the Tusculum advantage to 6-5. The Bulldogs tied the game in the sixth as Turgeon connected for his sixth home run with two outs.
Wingate put a runner in scoring position in the seventh and Tusculum did likewise in the eighth, but both rallies were extinguished. Billings singled with two outs in the ninth and stole second, but Krebs struck out swinging to send the game to extra innings.
Tusculum had a chance in the 10th as Topoleski singled with one out and Jeovanny Tolentino drew a two-out walk, but Wingate's Brown got a strikeout to end the threat. Wingate threatened in the bottom of the 10th as Brown reached on a leadoff single, but a fielder's choice groundout preceded a double play grounder which sent the game to the 11th.
Victoriano finished 2-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored for the Pioneers, who had 13 hits as a team. Lacina was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and Topoleski went 2-for-6 with a pair of RBIs. Wesley was 2-for-5 out of the leadoff spot as all nine starters had at least one hit for Tusculum.
Billings was 3-for-6 with two runs scored for the Bulldogs, with Krebs finishing 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. Wingate also had 13 hits in the game, with eight of them coming from the top three spots in the lineup.
Watts (1-4) scattered five hits and struck out four during his 5 1/3 innings in relief of Carpenter, who surrendered six runs (five earned) on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and a walk.
Brown allowed three hits and three runs in three innings of relief for the Bulldogs, after Cameron Price threw 3 1/3 innings of one-hit, no-run relief. Hamilton was tagged for nine hits and six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, with two strikeouts and three walks.
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