SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Down 5-3 entering the seventh inning, the Wofford baseball team plated two runs in the seventh to tie the game at Russell C. King Field and then a go-ahead run in the eighth to ultimately dispatch Winthrop 6-5 Wednesday evening. After Mike Eggert locked down the contest in the ninth, the Terriers improve to 29-13 on the season with the Eagles dropping to 15-24-1.
 
Mike Eggert (8-3) claimed the win as the final Terrier arm, tossing the last 2.0 innings. He struck out four batters while allowing no runs, hits or walks. The only batter to reach against him did so via an error. Branton Little made his first-career start, pitching 4.0 innings with four punchouts and two runs on five hits. Morgan Lunceford hurled an inning before Mason Compton came on to the tune of 2.0 scoreless frames. He gave up just one hit and one walk with a pair of punchouts before handing the baton to Eggert.
 
"Just do whatever I can to get a zero and let our offense go to work," said Eggert of his mindset entering a tied game.  
 
Winthrop reliever Grant Shepherd (0-1) suffered the loss after facing just one batter, but that Terrier drew a walk and eventually scored the decisive run of the ballgame.
 
Dixon Black led the way for Wofford offensively with three hits and an RBI. One of his hits was a double. Andrew Mannelly and David Wiley both clubbed two doubles with Mannelly driving home two runs. Wiley added a walk to reach base three times. Jack Renwick also tallied two hits and added an RBI. Brice Martinez and Daniel Jackson both drove home runs with Martinez's lone hit being a triple.
 
Marshall Toole extended his program-record on-base streak to 42 games and swiped a base, pushing his national lead to 36 steals. Five other Terriers stole a base for six total Wofford swipes. Black, Jackson, Lucas Manning, Tyler Bak and Renwick all claimed a steal. Manning (9-of-9) and Renwick (12-of-12) are still perfect on the season.
 
The Eagles wasted no time claiming the lead, notching a lead-off homer in the top of the first for a quick 1-0 edge.
 
But Wofford responded in the bottom of the second. After Lucas Manning reached on a fielder's choice, he stole second where Andrew Mannelly would drive him home by way of a double down the left field line. With the contest tied, Jack Renwick singled to left to push Mannelly across for a 2-1 lead.
 
But an RBI single for Winthrop in the top of the third pulled the Eagles level, 2-2.
 
The Terriers used a pair of doubles by David Wiley and Mannelly in the bottom of the fourth to pull ahead once more, 3-2.
 
But the pendulum continued to swing, this time in Winthrop's favor in the top of the fifth. An RBI fielder's choice tied the game, and the Eagles pulled back in front with an RBI sacrifice bunt. A run-scoring single would give Winthrop a 5-3 advantage.
 
The game cooled down for a couple of innings with both bullpens keep their opposing squads in check. That is until the Wofford offense began to rally in the seventh. Dixon Black opened the frame with a double, and Brice Martinez followed with a triple to bring Wofford within one. Daniel Jackson would ground out, but it was enough to push Martinez across for yet another tie in the game, 5-5.
 
Mike Eggert came on to pitch and worked a 1-2-3 top of the eighth, passing the torch back over to his offense, who came up clutch. Ryan Wynn worked a pinch-hit lead-off walk to begin the inning. He was then lifted for pinch-runner Tyler Bak, who promptly stole second. After a pair of outs, Bak found himself on third with the inning in danger of ending. But Black hit a tough grounder to the shortstop, and the throw to first was not in time. As Black legged out the infield single, Bak raced home for the go-ahead run as Wofford pulled in front 6-5.
 
Eggert returned to the bump looking to lock down the game, and he did just that. After striking out the first two batters, an error gave Winthrop a baserunner. But Eggert was undeterred, fanning the final hitter to ice the contest and a 6-5 Terrier triumph.
 
"It really shows the grit this team has," said Mason Compton of the team's hard-fought comeback win. "No matter what the score is, we're always going to play hard and try to find a way back into it, and that's why we got that done today."
 
Wofford returns to action this weekend with a series against Gardner-Webb. The first game is set for a 6:00 p.m. first pitch in Boiling Springs, N.C.