Eagles win game, series vs. Raiders in walk-off fashion

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 27, 2014) – Down to its final three outs and faced with the prospect of dropping its second straight series, Tallahassee Community College got off the deck and scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to claim a 6-5 win over Northwest Florida State College on Thursday evening. 

With the win, Tallahassee (33-9) moved one game above .500 in the Panhandle Conference standings at 5-4. Northwest Florida State fell to 4-2 in league play with the loss. 

Tallahassee and starting pitcher Victor Cole carried a 3-2 lead into the eighth but Cole's day ended after allowing back-to-back hits to start the inning. The Raiders added three more hits off reliever Logan Elliot. By the time all was said and done, Northwest Florida State plated three runs and had a 5-3 lead. 

The Eagles got one run back in the bottom of the eighth then needed very little time to win the game in their final at-bat. 

Cole Johnson led off the ninth with a double down the left field line, immediately putting the tying run in scoring position for Tallahassee. After Geremy Walton struck out, Ryne Willard, representing the winning run, drew a walk. 

Two batters later, the game was over. First, Bobby Rice singled to center, scoring Johnson to tie the game at 5-all. The next batter, D.J. McKnight singled to left and Willard raced home from second with the winning run. 

McKnight was 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI, the game-winner. 

Tallahassee took a 3-0 lead in the second on Christian Dicks' three-run homer. Dicks went 3-for-3. 

Cole struck out seven over seven-plus innings of work, but came away with a no-decision. The win went to Elliot, who allowed four hits over the final two innings. 

Tallahassee has the next bye in the PC schedule rotation and will return to play on Friday, April 4 at Gulf Coast State College. First pitch is at 5 p.m. eastern.