MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Down to its final three outs in its final Spring Break contest on Thursday morning, Eastern Baseball used a seven-run ninth inning to beat John Jay, 9-4, for the second time in as many days. Trailing 4-2, first-year third baseman Robert Del Buono ignited the rally with a game-tying two-run single to right field, and the Eagles tacked on five more runs after that to secure the win and a 2-2 record in South Carolina.

Del Buono had another great day at the plate for Eastern, finishing 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, while Justin DiCesare, after a four-hit game in game one against John Jay, went 1-for-4 with three RBIs. Evan Barks, Brock Langlotz, Griffin Falco, Jason Hall, and Connor Schilling each finished with one hit apiece, while Hall and sophomore Thomas Kozlusky each drove in a pair of runs.

Eastern's pitching staff was equally as brilliant on Thursday. Five pitchers - Kasey Baumgart, Joseph Juliano, Brennan Moloughney, Ethan Gwara, and Logan Culp - combined to give up just two earned runs and four walks while striking out seven, keeping the Eagles in the contest from start to finish.

"They showed a lot of fight and confidence coming back in that type of game," Eastern Head Coach Scott Renauro said. "Pitching did what they needed to today and the whole trip this week. We were able to get a lot of pitchers in so we can come back up north and have an idea where guys can plug in. A lot of young guys showed really good stuff this week."

The Eagles (4-2) struck first in the first inning as DiCesare scored Brian Lang on a RBI groundout, but the Bloodhounds (1-3) answered with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single in the bottom half of the frame. The score would remain 2-1 until the seventh, when John Jay scored two unearned runs on an Eastern fielding error.

From the second through the seventh inning, the Eagles' offense stalled. In those five frames, Eastern had just four baserunners and two hits. In the eighth, however, the Eagles were able to get a run back. With the bases loaded after a Logan Klember single, a Del Buono double and Ryan Turzani being hit by a pitch, Kozlusky also took a pitch to score Klember and cut the Eastern deficit to 4-2.

Eastern began the ninth with a single from Falco, a single from Schilling, and a fielders choice from pinch hitter Garrett Friend to load the bases. On a 2-2 count, Del Buono ripped a base hit to right field, plating Schilling and pinch runner Griffin Adams to tie the contest at 4-4. Two batters later, DiCesare ripped a double deep to right field to plate Del Buono and Friend to give Eastern a lead it would not relinquish. Kozlusky recorded his second RBI of the day on a sacrifice fly to center, and Hall capped off the scoring with a one-out, two-run single.

Culp capped off the comeback with a scoreless ninth, inducing a flyout and two groundouts. Gwara (1-0) picked up his first collegiate win, giving up just two hits in a scoreless frame. Juliano pitched three scoreless innings in the middle of the contest with three strikeouts on 53 pitches.

"Today, we couldn't get anything going on early after the first run, but the pitchers and solid defense kept us close," Renauro said. "We had to use a lot of guys in different positions, but they were ready and stayed locked in the entire game."

Eastern returns to Pennsylvania for a doubleheader, weather permitting, this coming Saturday against Muhlenberg. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 pm.