Carrollton, GA - After splitting on Saturday, UWG baseball faced a situation that it had not seen in some time, a chance to win a series over West Alabama. The Wolves pulled it out at Tartt Field in Livingston, Ala., taking 2-of-3 from the Tigers with a thrilling 8-7 victory Sunday afternoon.

The Wolves came into the weekend with very little luck against West Alabama in recent memory. In fact, West Alabama had claimed 17 of the last 20 games over West Georgia, dating back to the 2006 season. But with solid pitching and offense, UWG took the series from the Tigers on their home turf.

The series loomed big for both teams, as both squads were looking for a leg up in the GSC standings. West Georgia came into the day with a 4-1 record in GSC play while West Alabama was 2-3.

Head coach Skip Fite gave the ball to #Seth McClure# for the rubber game in the series Sunday. McClure went four and two-thirds innings pitched today giving up only two earned runs and scattering five hits and picked up the win for the Wolves. The win moves him to 2-1 on the season.

The Wolves drew first blood in this one, as #Evan Hester# got things started with two outs in the bottom of the first. The junior from Kennesaw doubled, then senior #Adam Whitlock# made it two straight doubles, bringing Hester home for the first run of the contest.

With the game tied at 1-1 in the top of the fifth, the Wolves did some real damage, with junior #Brett Wright# starting things off by getting on base by getting hit by a pitch. Two batters later, #Stuart Drew# singled and the Wolves were in business with runners at the corners with one out.

Freshman #Tanner Drennen# doubled, bringing home Wright and giving UWG runners at second and third. Drew scored on a sacrifice fly from #Evan Hester#, putting UWG up 3-1. After back-to-back walks from Whitlock and #Garrett May# loaded the bases, catcher #Galen Smith# brought home two runs with a two-out single.

But the Wolves weren't done in the top of the fifth, as junior center fielder #Bradford Mattox# singled, bringing home May for a 6-1 lead for West Georgia with four innings to play.

McClure got into a jam in the bottom half of the inning, however, giving up two runs and forcing Fite to bring in sophomore #Jamie Sexton# to relieve McClure. Sexton stopped the bleeding, as the Wolves exited the inning with a smaller 6-3 cushion.

The score remained the same until the seventh, when Hester brought out the double stick once more, followed by a Whitlock single that gave the Wolves a 7-3 lead. That would stay until the bottom of the seventh, when UWA added another run to pull back within three at 7-4.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Sexton gave up two more runs and Fite closed the book on his day, as he went three innings, giving up six hits and three earned runs. #Chase Riemer# came into the game in the bottom of the eighth inning to relieve Sexton. Riemer shut the door in the eighth and the Wolves led by a slim 7-6 margin.

Senior All-American #Stuart Drew# did his usual thing in the top of the ninth, getting on and moving around the basepaths and eventually scoring the winning run on a passed ball. That run sent the game to the bottom of the ninth with West Georgia holding a two-run cushion.

With one on and two out in the bottom of the ninth, things got interesting, as Riemer gave up a run-scoring double that pulled the Tigers to within one at 8-7. After Riemer walked the next batter, Fite gave the ball to freshman #Alex Allen, looking for the youngster to close out the game.

Allen picked up two quick strikes against junior pinch hitter Josh Podoris. After Podoris worked the count to 2-2, the freshman sent the Tigers to the showers with a strikeout to close out the series and pick up the save, the first of his collegiate career.

Every starter for the Wolves on Sunday reached base at least once, with Hester having the top day with a 2-for-3 effort with a pair of doubles, two runs scored and an RBI. Whitlock was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored and Drew went 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

While the UWG defense committed two errors on the afternoon, the Wolves worked well when it counted, as West Georgia forced UWA to leave 18 runners on base in the game. The Wolves are now 13-6 on the year and 5-1 in GSC play. West Alabama falls to 10-12 and 2-4 in conference action.

West Georgia will travel to Georgia College and State University for a mid-week matchup against the Bobcats. First pitch is set for 5 p.m on March 14.