SPARTANBURG, S.C. – With two outs and the score tied in the bottom of the ninth, Marshall Toole hit a slow roller to short that appeared likely to force extra innings, but the fleet-footed sophomore beat out the throw, allowing Connor Larson to race home for the winning run. With an 8-7 win, the Terriers improve to 1-1, and the Salukis drop to 1-1 as well.
 
Reliever Luke Stephens (1-0) earned the win for Wofford after pitching the final 2.1 innings. Freshman Charlie Weber started for the Terriers, allowing three runs, two earned, on two hits. He notched three strikeouts, the first of his career. Freshman Zac Cowan also made his debut for Wofford, delivering five punchouts in 2.2 innings with three runs allowed.
 
Saluki reliever Matthew Steidl (0-1) suffered the loss after giving up three runs in 2.2 innings of work.
 
The game was a back-and-forth battle with both teams tallying double-digit hits, Wofford at 13 and SIU at 11. Brice Martinez paced Wofford as one of four players with multiple hits, recording four. Marshall Toole and Ryan Galanie each knocked three hits, and Jack Renwick added two. All four players knocked in a pair of RBI each, and Toole reached back six total times by also drawing three walks.
 
One of Galanie's hits was a home run, his first of the campaign. Toole swiped a base, his first steal of the season.
 
Wofford opened the contest with two runs in the first when Brice Martinez ripped a single to center to give the Terriers an early 2-0 lead.
 
SIU took a lead after scoring two runs in the third and another in the fourth for a 3-2 advantage.
 
But the Terriers responded in the bottom of the fourth when Marshall Toole brought home the tying run, and he then scored when Ryan Galanie launched a two-run blast to left center for a 5-3 Terrier lead.
 
With a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh, SIU again pulled ahead by a score of 7-5.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Jack Renwick laced a single back up the middle to plate a pair of runs, evening the contest at 7-7.
 
The score would remain level until the bottom of the ninth. Connor Larson drew a pinch-hit walk with one out, and Renwick moved him over to second with a sacrifice bunt. Toole came up next, and he hit a slow roller to short, seemingly locking in extras. But Toole raced down the line and beat out the throw, and Larson never hesitated rounding third to slide in safely for the game-winning run. The walk-off triumph came by an 8-7 margin for Wofford's first win of the season, evening the series.
 
Wofford and SIU will square off once more tomorrow in the rubber match at 1:00 p.m.