Chandler Knox (Columbia, S.C.) took the loss and moved to 3-2 on the season after allowing four runs in the eighth. Starting pitcher Buck Mosteller (Woodruff, S.C.) pitched seven innings and allowed two earned runs out of four total while striking out five.

Daniel Merck and Jake Watts led Gardner-Webb with three hits and two RBI each. Reliever Brock Wilson earned the win.

The Runnin' Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after a leadoff walk eventually came home from third on a double play.

PC answered Gardner-Webb's run with one of its own in the second to tie the game, 1-1.

Micklon held off on a 3-1 pitch to earn a leadoff walk to begin the frame. Two outs later, Horton drove a ball down the right field line and legged out the first triple of his career to bring Micklon home and pull even, 1-1.

Gardner-Webb retook the lead and built it to two thanks to solo runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but the Blue Hose exploded for five in the sixth to grab a 6-3 lead.

Like the second inning, the inning began with Micklon drawing a leadoff walk. After one out and a pitching change in favor of Wilson, Gabe Grammer (Irmo, S.C.) singled to center to put two aboard.

A flyout brought the inning one out away from ending but Tyler Hill (Goose Creek, S.C.) earned a free pass on ball four of a full count to load the bases. John Wagner (Goose Creek, S.C.) stepped to the plate but, before he put a ball in play, a passed ball scored Micklon and moved runners to second and third.

Wagner then beat out an infield hit to drive in Hill and tie the game at 3-3. Wagner moved to second on a fielder's choice that put Williams on first base but did not get the last out of the inning. The Blue Hose took advantage of the situation as Mack Hite (Abbeville, S.C.) smacked a single to right field to add another run and Brandon Paul (Augusta, Ga.) followed up with a single through the left side for one final score in the inning. PC exited the frame ahead, 6-3.

Gardner-Webb posted three singles in the bottom of the sixth to cut into the PC lead by one, 6-4, but Mosteller got out of the inning with no further damage.

A scoreless seventh inning brought an eighth in which Gardner-Webb turned five hits into four runs that put the Runnin' Bulldogs up by two, 8-6.

The Blue Hose began to mount a rally in the ninth. Micklon picked up his second hit of the day on a double and scored by way of Horton's second RBI, a two-out single up the middle. Nate Chong (Duluth, Ga.) pinch ran for the catcher but was picked off as the game ended with Gardner-Webb taking the win, 8-7.

PC returns for a doubleheader in Boiling Springs to wrap up the series tomorrow. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.