CHARLOTTE, NC - After overcoming a five-run deficit, West Georgia baseball was walked off in the ninth by Queens University to fall 9-8 in Sunday's series finale.

Held to one hit through seven frames, the Wolves (8-20, 5-4 ASUN) staged a six-run rally fueled by a grand slam and homer from Fano Cruz, but it was not enough to outlast Queens' (7-19, 3-6 ASUN) final frame push. UWG still earned the series win, 2-1.

For the first time in the three-game series, neither team scored in the opening inning and Queens was the first to strike. 

During the bottom of the second frame, the Royals got on the board after getting walked with the bases loaded. Still in the second, QU recorded a two-run RBI single to push their lead to 3-0.

The following frame would see the hosts' advantage balloon to 4-0 thanks to a sacrifice fly to center field. 

In the seventh, Queens broke the game's scoring drought and continued to build their lead by driving a Royal home on an RBI triple to left. 

After UWG was held to just one hit through seven innings, Fano Cruz crushed a home run over the center field fence to cut the hosts' advantage to 5-1. Keeping the momentum alive, Gabe Wuerth singled to center field. During the play on the ball, the Royals' outfielder misplayed the hit, allowing a Wolf to score while still in the eighth. 

In the bottom of the frame, Queens responded with back-to-back home runs to push out to a 7-2 lead.

With one more chance to stage a rally, UWG opened the ninth by capitalizing on a hit-by-pitch. Patrick McCullough then recorded a double and a Wolf was walked to load the bases with zero outs. Coming off a home run in the seventh, Cruz crushed a grand slam to dash the hosts' lead to 7-6. Andon Lewis followed it up by hitting his sixth home run of the season to knot the game at 7-7. Blake Bradford then drove a runner home with a single to give the Wolves their first lead of the day.

Unfortunately, in the bottom of the ninth, Queens responded with a two-run home run to take a 9-8 win over the Wolves.

Zane Wright was tagged with the loss, bringing his season record to 0-4 with four saves. He struck out one batter and gave up two runs today. 

The Wolves return to Cole Field to host Samford this Tuesday for a midweek matchup. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. 

NOTABLE NUMBERS
-Cruz is the first Wolf this season to record two home runs in one game. The last time a Wolf achieved this was Carter Dierdorf against Florida A&M last year (March 8, 2025)
-Today's homers from Cruz marked his third and fourth of the season. The last time he hit a home run was in the opening series against Central Michigan.
-Both Pasco-Hernando State transfers, Cruz and Anthony Cole, are the only ones to hit a grand slam this season.
-Cruz led the team with two hits and a career-high five RBIs today.
-In six frames, starting pitcher Luke Ridley tied his career-high of seven strikeouts while allowing five earned runs. 
-Ridley is the only Wolf to record seven strikeouts twice this season. Lex Kenny achieved this feat once.
-West Georgia posts a 2-1 ASUN series record.