WALESKA, Ga. – The Reinhardt College baseball team and the visiting Berry College Vikings split a pair of Southern States Athletic Conference games that went into extra innings on Friday at the Jim & Syble Boring Sports Complex. Reinhardt won the first game 7-5 in eight innings on a walk-off two-run home run by Greg Ihlenburg (Canton, Ga.) before falling 6-5 in nine innings in the second contest.  

In the opening game, the Eagles built a 4-0 lead with two runs in each of the first two innings before Berry tied it with a four-run third. After Reinhardt took a 5-4 advantage with a run in the fourth inning, the Vikings knotted things up again by scoring once in the sixth, sending the contest into extra innings tied at 5-5. That set the stage for Ihlenburg's heroics in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Each club collected nine hits but the Eagles made three errors to just one for Berry. The Vikings left 13 runners on base, compared to 11 for the winners.

Offensively for Reinhardt, Jarrod Willis (Douglasville, Ga.) was 2-for-3 with a double, walk, two runs scored and an RBI while Ihlenburg finished 2-for-4 with the game-winning homer, a walk and three RBIs. Daniel Jape (Woodstock, Ga.) went 1-for-2 with a double, walk and an RBI while Brad Blalock (Grayson, Ga.) ended 1-for-2 with two bases on balls and a run scored. Chris Nuckolls (Canton, Ga.) also had a hit in two at-bats while freshman Harry Nutter (Jonesboro, Ga.) was 1-for-3 with a triple, two walks, two runs scored and an RBI. Michael Willis (Douglasville, Ga.) also tripled while Daniel Hester (Atlanta, Ga.) walked twice and scored a run.

Freshman Ryan McDowell (Acworth, Ga.) was the Eagles' starting pitcher and lasted two innings. He did not allow a hit or run while striking out two batters. Michael Willis picked up the victory in relief by throwing 2⅓ scoreless innings, surrendering two hits with one strikeout and one walk.

In the second extra-inning affair, each team scored two runs in the first inning before Reinhardt went ahead 3-2 by scoring once in the third. Berry regained the lead with single runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings but the Eagles came back to tie the contest, 4-4, and send it into extra innings with a run in the sixth. In the ninth inning, the Vikings put two more runs on the scoreboard before Reinhardt scored once in the bottom half.

Berry had a 10-9 edge in hits and committed one error. Reinhardt played error-free defensively.

Michael Willis went 2-for-3 with a walk, run scored and an RBI for the Eagles while Chad Hiddleson (Marietta, Ga.) also finished 2-for-3. Jarrod Willis was 2-for-4 with a walk and run scored while James Greer (Woodstock, Ga.) ended 1-for-1 in a pinch-hitter role. Jape went 1-for-3 with a home run, walk and two RBIs while Hester also had a hit in three at-bats with a walk and run scored. Nutter contributed an RBI on a sacrifice fly while Ihlenburg walked and scored a run.

On the mound for Reinhardt, Joseph Bracelin (Canton, Ga.) pitched the first four innings. Brian Wallace (Douglasville, Ga.) was the loser in relief, giving up one hit and one run over 3⅓ innings.

The Eagles are 28-25 overall and 10-16 in SSAC play while the Vikings are 33-15 overall, including 14-12 in the conference. The same two teams will meet for a single SSAC game at the Boring Sports Complex on Saturday at 1 p.m. Following the contest, Reinhardt's nine senior players will be honored as part of Senior Day.