AUGUSTA, Ga.  – In the bottom of the 11th inning down 7-5, juniors Hunter Boose and Connor Gilbert stroked back-to-back singles to the outfield to give the GRU Augusta Jaguars an 8-7 victory in walk-off fashion at Lake Olmstead Stadium.

The two teams met earlier in the year, with the Flying Fleet winning 8-2 in Due West, S.C., on Feb. 10.

The Jags (7-10) started off strong on offense and defense, with Jaguar starter David Hagelston striking out his first two batters and scoring two during their first at bat. CJ Reed reached first on a single to left field and scored on Clint Hardy's triple to the center field wall.  Drew Taylor brought Hardy in, earning his 15th RBI of the season.

The Flying Fleet scored in the top of the third on a couple of base hits to left field and tied the game at 2-all in the top of the fourth off four-straight hits. They took the lead in the seventh inning on a homerun by junior Sam Cothran, but the Jags got a little going when Andrew Gomez reached on an error. 

The speedy Bradley Dennis came in to pinch run, stealing second, moving to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kevin Dodson, and scoring on a wild pitch.

Hagelston pitched 7.0 innings in the start and struck out two, before Will Robertson came in to record 3.0 innings of work.

The Fleet went ahead again on a two RBI homerun by Zack Smith, the first batter of the game to face Will Robertson, taking a 5-3 lead in the eighth.  Again, the Jags fought back with Cole Thompson and Kevin Dodson both getting RBI to tie the game at 5-5. 

Robertson closed out the top of the ninth, sitting the batters down in order. Although Taylor reached base for the second time of the game, the Jags weren't able to get anyone home, and the game went into extra innings.

The Jags brought in Adam Grice to pitch in the 11th, and the Fleet had a nice inning, scoring two off three base hits and a hit by pitch to take the lead for the third time, before David Bermudez came in to pitch.

In their last at bat, Clint Hardy was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the 11th.  Drew Taylor had a base hit, and Nick Rau walked to load the bases. Hunter Boose's base hit to left field earned him two RBIs and tied the game 7-7.  Connor Gilbert's at bat ended an exciting game with a walk off single to center field, giving the Jags a 7-6 victory.

Gilbert was 3-5 with a game-winning RBI. Five other Jaguars recorded two hits. Bermudez (1-0) got the win in 0.2 innings of work after he was called to clean up the 11th.

The Jags hosts the Lander Bearcats in Peach Belt Conference play this weekend for a 12:00 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, March 14 and a single game at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.

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