Birmingham-Southern stays alive in the DIII College World Series with a 9-7 walk-off victory

The Birmingham-Southern College baseball team kept its unlikely story alive in exciting fashion. The Panthers will play at least one more game in the Division III College World Series in Eastlake, Ohio.

First baseman Jackson Webster hit a two-run home run, his second of the game, in the bottom of the ninth inning to give BSC a 9-7 comeback walk-off victory over Randolph-Macon on Saturday. The Panthers play Sunday with another chance to extend their season until Monday’s semifinals.

The Panthers faced the end of their season on Saturday night and were in danger of going home in the double-elimination tournament after losing Friday night’s opener to Salve Regina.

“Home” is a complicated concept for Birmingham-Southern, as Alabama College permanently closed its doors Friday due to financial issues. The baseball team’s continued play after the school’s demise has made the Panthers and their postseason a national curiosity.

Unlike Friday night’s game, when the electricity went out at Classic Park beforehand, forcing Birmingham-Southern and Salve Regina to sing the national anthem themselves on the field, the Panthers turned on the power early.

The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run home run by Webster off Yellow Jackets pitcher Drew Ramos. Two batters later, right fielder Charlie Banks hit a solo shot.

The lead was extended to 4-0 in the third inning.

Facing elimination, Randolph-Macon coach Ray Hedrick pulled Ramos after his rough first inning and brought in William Wian. The sophomore struck out four batters in two innings, but allowed another BCS run in the third on an RBI double by Banks.

The Yellow Jackets broke through against BSC starter Josh Leerssen in the fifth with an RBI triple by right fielder Eli Brooks. Second baseman Jordan Hill then drove in Brooks to cut BSC’s lead to 4-2.

Randolph-Mason scored seven unanswered points

In the seventh, Randolph-Mason plated the go-ahead run after Leerssen hit Matt Myers and Grayson Bush with pitches to get them on base. But Brooks helped BSC with a bunt attempt. Leerssen then eliminated Hill before being replaced by Hansen McCown.

However, McCown gave up an RBI single to Jon Quici and an infield single to Carter Schmitt, who drove in the tying run.

Randolph-Mason continued to roll in the eighth. Outfielder Myles Webb led off with a single and eventually advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Chaz Harvey and a wild pitch. Myers drove in Webb with a single to give the Yellow Jackets a 5-4 lead.

Jacob Fields replaced Leerssen and then allowed a single to Bush. He then lost control of his pitches and gave up two consecutive runs on wild pitches, increasing Randolph-Mason’s lead to 7-4. BSC coach Jan Weisberg stuck with Fields, but the right-hander walked Hill and Quici before being removed from the game for left-hander Charlie Horne.

Exciting comeback from Birmingham-Southern

However, Birmingham-Southern just couldn’t let the postseason end. Facing reliever Sam Slevin, the Panthers scored two runs on back-to-back one-out singles by Ian Hancock and Banks. Both runners were driven in on a triple by Jakob Zito, making it 7-6. Ty Truett then laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to the team at first base, but Zito was thrown out at home.

Truett eventually scored the tying run after stealing second base and coming home on a single by Grant Morgan. BSC had a chance to take the lead on a single by Parker Ladd, but Yellow Jackets reliever Michael Shanahan struck out Eli Steadman in an attempt to preserve the 7-7 tie.

Horne then pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to set up Webster’s ninth-inning heroics.

With the win, the Panthers will face the loser of Saturday night’s game between Salve Regina and Wisconsin-Whitewater in another elimination game on Sunday at 3 PM ET. If Birmingham-Southern wins, their postseason continues Monday.