LEXINGTON, Va. – An unearned run in the bottom half of the ninth inning doomed the Ursinus College Baseball team's comeback effort in a 9-8 loss to Washington & Lee on Sunday.  
 


Ursinus trailed 8-4 heading into the eighth inning but a four-run outburst from the Bears tied the game at eight a piece. The Bears scored all eight runs in two separate innings as Ursinus put four runs on the board in the third inning as well.  


 
Washington & Lee jumped on the board first in the bottom half of the opening frame after a one-out single from Zach Perkins netted the first baserunner of the contest. Perkins stole second and third before a ground out drove him home. The Generals increased their lead to 3-0 in the next frame behind a Bears error and a daring steal of home.  


 
Ursinus would respond in the top of the third inning with two outs, five straight batters would reach base, and they would score four runs to recapture a 4-3 lead. Sophomore Jakob Cantor started the rally scorching a double down the left field and senior Nick Diaz followed up with a walk to reach first. Senior Solomon Griffith stepped to the plate and drove a pitch into the left center field gap resulting in a triple and two RBI's. Classmate Tom Snipes tied the game at three a piece as Griffith scored on a single to left field. Junior Jared Minnichbach drove in Snipes with a double to left field to give Urisnus the 4-3 lead.  

 
Sophomore southpaw starter Kieran Hollander was lifted after two innings of work as he finished with 44 pitches after allowing four hits, two earned runs, and one walk. Senior David Kratz relieved Hollander in the bottom half of the third inning and allowed two baserunners but escaped the jam after a fly out to left field.  


 
Washington & Lee's Evan Blair replaced the Generals starter in the top half of the fourth inning and retired the Bears in order. Kratz would silence the Generals bats as well in the bottom half of the frame as he recorded a punch out and a ground out. In the 5^th frame, Washington & Lee would respond with two outs scoring five runs to regain an 8-4 lead. The Generals capitalized off a Bears error and five hits to regain the lead. Washington & Lee's pitcher Evan Blair would continue to keep the Ursinus lineup off balance as he retired the next six batters in row to make it twelve straight men retired in order.  


 
First-year Dan Bass took to the mound for Ursinus in the sixth inning and would shine in his collegiate debut striking out four batters while just giving up two hits over two innings of work. In the top half of the eighth inning, the Bears offense would respond with another four-run inning to tie the game at eight a piece. Diaz opened the inning with a one-out single and would advance to third as Griffith slapped a single through the left side of the infield. Snipes drove in Diaz with a single to the right side of the field for his second RBI of the afternoon to cut the Bears deficit to three. With two runners on, and a 1-1 count, Jared Minnichbach delivered the Bears' first homerun of the season with a three-run shot over the left field wall to tie the game at eight a piece. The homerun was number five in Minnichbach's career and his first since March 9^th of last season in a contest against Rochester. The Generals closed out the frame as sophomore Dylan Runsdorf flew out to left field.  


 
In the bottom half of the eighth inning, sophomore Mike Scheller relived Bass on the mound and retired the first two men that stepped to the plate. Scheller walked the next batter who advanced to second on a wild pitch, but a fly out to right field allowed the Bears to escape the jam and head to the ninth inning. After Ursinus went down in order in the top of the ninth, Washington & Lee capitalized on a Bears fielding mistake and a bunt advanced the runner into scoring position. The Generals came through with a one out walk-off single to right field that scored the runner from second to sweep the two-game opening series.  


 
Mike Scheller (0-1) was handed the loss after giving up just one hit, two walks, and striking out one batter over 1.1 innings of work. Evan Blair shined for the visitors pitching four scoreless innings of relief while striking out five batters and now allowing a hit. Campbell Charneco recorded the victory out of the bullpen for the Generals fanning three batters and not allowing a hit over 1.2 innings.  


 
Seven of the nine Generals runs were unearned as they capitalized from five Bears defensive errors. Griffith, Snipes, and Minnichbach led the Bears at the plate each recording multi-hit games while Designated Hitter Nick Diaz collected a base hit and two runs scored.  
 


The Bears return to action on Thursday as they travel to Glenside, Pennsylvania for a 2 p.m. start at Arcadia University.