SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After the game pulled level in the sixth, the Wofford baseball team responded with five runs to pull ahead to a 7-2 margin at Russell C. King Field Tuesday evening, a score that would prove to be the final result. The win over Presbyterian moves the Terriers to 28-22 as the Blue Hose fall to 17-28.
 
Branton Little started and delivered 5.0 shutout innings on the bump. He struck out three with six hits and one walk allowed. Dylan Rhadans was first out of the bullpen and surrendered a pair of runs before Carter Rasmussen (5-2) took over on the mound, claiming the win as the final pitcher. He hurled 3.2 innings of shutout baseball, striking out a career-high seven batters while giving up just a single hit.
 
"I was really just attacking them, getting my pitches on the plate, and really just letting them hand us outs," said Little of his start. "They were giving us a lot of early contact, so just attacking with every pitch and living with it."
 
"I think the key today was just attack, attack, attack," added Rasmussen of the pitching. "We started off on the right foot and just kept pounding in the zone, getting as many outs as possible, and trusting in my defense, and it worked out."
 
Five pitchers toed the rubber for the Blue Hose with the middle arm, Eli Bowery (0-1), getting tagged with the loss. He faced three batters without recording an out, getting charged with three runs after a hit and two walks.
 
Wofford gained a 9-8 edge in hits on the evening with a trio tallying two each: Ryan Wynn, Tanner Hardin, and Tyler Bak. All three worked one walk to each reach base three times total, and Bak added an RBI. Hunter Herndon, Adam Haber, and Niko Brini each recorded one RBI with Brini's coming from his big solo blast, his fourth homer of the season. David Wiley owned the only other extra-base hit with his double. Hardin and Bak each notched a steal.
 
The contest opened as a pitchers' duel with the first three frames flying by scoreless. Wofford broke through in the bottom of the fourth with a run. David Wiley clubbed a lead-off double, and a wild pitch moved him to third. From there, he scored on Hunter Herndon's sacrifice fly for a 1-0 edge.
 
Wofford took advantage of PC miscues in the fifth to tack on another run. Cade Collins singled and was switched out for Niko Brini on a fielder's choice. A pick-off throw sailed away to advance Brini, and he scored when Ryan Wynn singled and another throw sailed away. The Terriers led 2-0.
 
The sixth inning proved pivotal as the game's remaining runs were all plated in the frame. In the top of the inning, the Blue Hose pulled level after a two-run homer. In the bottom of the frame, Wofford responded in fashion with five runs. A single and two walks loaded the bases for Tyler Bak, who singled home one run and kept the bags full. A wild pitch then moved everyone up a base, bringing in a run. The pinch-hitting Adam Haber lifted a sacrifice fly to score another, and a second wild pitch pushed across a fourth score. Brini then connected on a towering no-doubt solo shot to right that traveled 409 feet and left the bat at 102 miles per hour. Wofford pulled in front to 7-2.
 
Terrier reliever Carter Rasmussen held the game down from there on the hill, posting a pair of 1-2-3 innings over the final three frames, including the ninth, to close out the 7-2 victory.
 
The contest was Wofford's final midweek tilt of the campaign. The remaining six games are all conference match-ups, beginning with a three-game slate this weekend at ETSU. The first game against the Buccaneers is set for 5:00 p.m. in Johnson City, Tennessee.
 
"We've got a good opponent coming up this weekend – ETSU's had a really good season, strong team," said associate head coach Pat Brown. "It will be a really good test for us, and it's always helpful to get a good midweek win and carry that momentum into the weekend."