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Box Score 2 Spring Hill College (SHC) senior left fielder
Conner Harrison lived out the dream on Saturday evening at historic Stan Galle Field as his final career at bat ended with a walk-off single to right-center that brought in fellow senior and first baseman
Hunter Romero from 2
nd base with the game-winning run in an exciting 7-6 come-from-behind conference victory over the Clark Atlanta University (CAU) Panthers. SHC earned the doubleheader sweep on the day by earlier claiming a 10-2 victory in the opener.
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In the nightcap, the Badgers found themselves trailing the Panthers (13-25, 7-13 SIAC) by 3-1 margin after 3½ innings, but rallied to score two in the bottom of the 3
rd inning when Harrison scampered in from 3
rd base off a wild pitch and second baseman
Daniel Rodriguez brought in catcher
Neil Ring by hitting behind the runner for an RBI-groundout to 2
nd base.
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Two more Badger runs came home in the 5
th inning off an RBI-double by Romero and a dropped two-out fly ball in the outfield, but CAU rallied to take a 6-5 lead in the 6
th inning off a run-scoring single by leadoff hitter Antonio Watts and a two-run single to right by shortstop Kelechi Anyanwu.
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Spring Hill got back off the matt in the bottom of the 6
th frame with another run from a wild pitch when shortstop
Maverick Latour scored from 3
rd base with two outs, setting up Harrison's heroics in the bottom of the 7
th inning after Romero led off with a single to left and advanced to 2
nd base on the fourth CAU wild pitch of the game.
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Michael Romano (5-3) picked up the win in one inning of hitless relief work as senior starter
Dylan Kiene lasted four innings with seven hits, a walk and three strike outs. Dillon Stafford (2-4) took the loss in 1.2 innings of relief with two hits, two walks and two strike outs following a 4.1 inning performance by starter Ryan Betts who allowed five hits and four walks with one strike out.
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In the opening game, the Badgers scored early and late to earned a 10-2 victory. Harrison also provided the big blow in the 1
st inning of Game One when he connected for a three-run home run to right field to hand SHC a 4-0 advantage. Badger designated hitter
Hunter DArmond made it 5-1 in the 4
th inning with an RBI-single up the middle of the infield and five more Spring Hill runs would cross home plate in the 6
th inning with Romero adding a two-run single to center for the final runs.
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Austin Barrios (4-5) earned the win in 2.1 innings of relief of starter
Justin Whitsett. Whitsett went 3.2 innings with three hits, two walks and two strike outs while Barrios allowed just one hit with no walks and five strike outs. Senior
Michael Druhan finished the final three outs of the contest with three hits, a walk and two strike outs. Anthony Nettles (3-8) took the loss in five innings with four hits, eight base-on-balls and three strike outs.
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At the plate in the twin bill, Romero collected two hits and four RBI, Harrison had three hits with four RBI, and Latour added four singles.
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The Badgers finished the season with a six-game winning streak and a 29-20 overall record while ending the year atop the SIAC West Division standings for the third consecutive season at 17-4, but Spring Hill cannot advance to the postseason during the transition process to NCAA Division II.
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