ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - Trailing 12-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Eastern Baseball (8-17, 1-3 MACC) pulled off an unbelievable comeback in a 13-12 victory over the Hood College Blazers in the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday at The Yard. Behind six hits and three Hood errors, the Eagles scored eight runs in the frame, securing their first conference victory of the season in exhilarating fashion.

Matt McHale began the rally by reaching first on an Hood (8-18, 1-3) error in the outfield. Two batters later, Connor Schilling reached first on another Hood miscue, putting runners at first and second with one out. Mark Cruser made the Blazer pay for their mistakes with a three-run bomb to left-center field, his third of the season, to cut the Eastern deficit to 12-8.

The Eagles continued to hit after Cruser's home run. Garrett Friend, Brock Langlotz, and Aaron Santos hit back-to-back-to-back singles, with the latter's RBI base hit trimming the deficit to 12-9. With still only one out in the frame, Draig Cooley launched a triple to deep-right center field, plating Friend and Langlotz to make it 12-11 in favor of the Blazers.

In his second at-bat of the inning, McHale drew a walk before advancing to second on a wild pitch. On a 2-2 count, Sean Cottrell, with runners on second and third with two outs, delivered the Eagles' biggest hit of the season with a scorching, two-run single up the middle of the field to cap off Eastern's improbable comeback. For Cottrell, his two-run base hit gave him 29 RBIs on the season.

Eastern held a 3-1 lead over the Blazers after five innings of play. Logan Klember started the scoring on an RBI groundout in the second inning, before Cottrell hit a sacrifice fly to right field in the third to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead. After Hood answered with a run of its own in the top of the fifth, Connor Schilling answered with an RBI double in the bottom of the frame, plating McHale and increasing the Eagles' advantage to 3-1.

The Blazers grabbed all the momentum in fourth and fifth innings, scoring eight runs, seven with two outs, to turn their two-run deficit into a six-run lead. Friend hit a two-run in the bottom of the seventh to make it 9-5, but Hood responded with three runs in the top of the eighth to take a game-high seven-run lead.

The Eagles, however, showed their resolve in the bottom of the ninth, and the inning-opening error proved to be all the momentum Eastern needed to pull one of the most exciting victories of the 2021-2022 season.

"The last inning was incredible," Eastern Head Coach Scott Renauro said. "Although the runs were unearned, we struck the ball well in almost every at-bat. That is what we have been waiting for as a coaching staff. From Cruser's home run, to Brock's pinch hit single, to Draig's triple, and to Cottrell's game-winning hit, we put together good at-bats in the ninth."

The Eagles were stellar offensively in the contest, collecting 15 hits. Cooley and Friend combined for six hits, two runs scored, and four RBIs, while Cottrell went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Cruser went 2-for-3 with a double, three RBIs, and two scored, while Santos added two hits and an RBI in his five appearances at the dish.

Eastern will be back in action on Tuesday at The Yard, welcoming Alvernia for a single, nine-inning contest. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 pm.