SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford baseball team led most of the way Wednesday evening against Kennesaw State at Russell C. King Field until the Owls mounted a comeback with four runs in the ninth to claim a 4-2 win over the Terriers. Wofford is 3-1 now after its first loss of the season, and KSU improves to 2-3.
 
Terrier reliever Mason Compton (1-1) suffered the loss after allowing four runs in his one-third of an inning. He recorded a strikeout but allowed four hits. Dylan Rhadans started for Wofford, tossing 3.0 innings with five punchouts, both new highs for his time as a Terrier. He allowed no runs and just a single hit. Camden Wicker relieved him and turned in the best performance yet of his young career, as the freshman pitched 5.0 innings of scoreless baseball with four strikeouts. Those 5.0 innings are the most by a Terrier hurler this season. He allowed only three hits with no walks. Compton came on to start the ninth, and Dom Marcoccio finished off the last two-thirds of that inning with just a hit allowed.
 
Owl reliever Ryan Renfroe (1-0) picked up the win after 1.0 inning of work with no runs and one hit allowed. Tanner Franklin (1) notched the save after striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth.
 
Wofford recorded seven hits, led by Brice Martinez with two. He also drove home a run. Gunnar Johnson reached twice as well with a hit and a walk, and he tallied Wofford's other RBI in the contest. Dixon Black and Andrew Mannelly each reached twice with a hit and walk. Black added in a stolen base.
 
Pitching for both teams was on point, as there were 23 total strikeouts in the game. The KSU staff recorded 12 with Wofford adding in 11 on its own end. There were only four walks issued, with Wofford drawing three while issuing only one.
 
The Terriers wasted no time getting on the board with a run in the bottom of the first. After Marshall Toole reached on an infield single, he later came in to score on a bloop single to right by Brice Martinez. Wofford led 1-0 after one inning of action.
 
The pitching staffs held firm from there until the fifth. In the bottom of that frame, Wofford broke the string of goose eggs with a run. After a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, Gunnar Johnson stepped up and lifted a fly ball to right. Dixon Black was able to race home from third, and the sacrifice fly extended the Wofford lead to 2-0.
 
Once again, the pitchers settled back in with more scoreless innings until the ninth. KSU came up to bat down to its final three outs, and that turned to two quickly after Mason Compton struck out the first batter looking. But the Owls recorded a hit, and they found their rhythm from there. An RBI single halved the margin, and a two-run double would flip the score. An RBI single made the score 4-2, and Wofford went into the bottom of the frame looking for its own late comeback.
 
But the Terriers were unable to get anything going, and Wofford fell 4-2 in midweek action to the Owls.
 
Wofford remains home this weekend for a three-game series against FDU. The set opens Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. with all three games taking place at Russell C. King Field and being streamed on ESPN+.