BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb rapped out 10 hits, and got a pair of two-run doubles from Justin Loyd to rally past Yale, 9-6, Monday afternoon at Varsity Field.

Gardner-Webb (9-9) did the trick with a three-run seventh inning.

Trailing 6-5 and the bases loaded with one out in the seventh, Loyd roped a two-run double down the third base line – pushing the Boiling Springs nine in front, 7-6. Josh Drewery then followed with a sacrifice fly to left that scored Bubbie Spake for an 8-6 margin.

Yale (4-10) got out of that inning, but Gardner-Webb added an insurance run in the eighth on an RBI infield single by Jamall Kinard. The hit, which ricocheted hard off relief pitcher Steve Gilman, plated Daniel Cooke.

Michael Lewis came on to pitch the ninth, striking out two batters for his first save of the season.

Adam Bullard (2-2) got the win in relief, working 4.1 innings with four strikeouts, three hits and two earned runs allowed. Ben Campbell allowed two earned runs in the start for GWU, going 3.2 innings and fanning three batters (three walks).

Cooke (2-for-4, three runs), Kinard (2-for-4, two RBI) and Loyd (2-for-3, 2B, 4 RBI) paced Gardner-Webb’s offensive attack.

GWU went up 1-0 in the first, as Cooke led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt – and advanced two more spots to score on a pair of wild pitches by Yale freshman Andy Megee. The Ivy League Bulldogs would answer to take the lead in the third inning – with Andrew Kolmar lofting a solo home run just over the 325 sign in left, and Gant Elmore scoring on an RBI single by P.J. Gorynski.

Campbell worked out of that jam, and Gardner-Webb would go back in front with a three-run burst in the bottom half of the third. Brock Miller walked, stole second and scored on a single by Kinard. Megee then intentionally walked Jeremiah Lokken, hit Bubbie Spake and was relieved by Matthew Smith.

Loyd proved to be the right man at the plate for Gardner-Webb, poking a two-run double to left center to drive in Miller and Lokken – and give the hosts a 4-2 edge. Drewery smoked a Smith pitch down the third base line, but Yale corner man Stefan Schropp prevented more damage with a nice snag and double play with a step on third base to end the inning.

Yale tied the game in the fourth without getting a hit, taking advantage of three walks by Campbell and two fielding errors to plate two runs. Gardner-Webb regained the advantage with an RBI groundout off of Cooke’s bat in the bottom of the fourth, but Yale would surge in front once more with a two-run fifth.

Bullard settled down to end the fifth with his GWU squad down just a run, and kept Yale at bay in the sixth and seventh frames – allowing the ‘Dogs to rally in the bottom of the seventh. The big righty fanned two Yale batters in the top of the eighth before giving way to Lewis in the ninth.

Yale southpaw Vinny Lally (0-1) took the loss, allowing a run in 0.1 innings of action. The Bulldogs from New Haven, Conn., used six pitchers and saw that staff plunk six batters, walk three and uncork three wild pitches.

Gorynski (2-for-4, RBI) paced the visitors’s offense, which managed just six hits on the day. Major league draft prospects Josh Cox (0-for-5) and Ryan Lavarnway (1-for-4, 2B) combined to go just 1-for-9 with a pair of strikeouts on the afternoon.

Gardner-Webb, which has won five of its last six games, will hit the road after its successful six-game homestand. The Diamond ‘Dogs will face A-Sun foe Lipscomb at 6 pm ET on Thursday in Nashville, Tenn. The two will play a pair on Friday to wrap up the three-game series.

Yale, wrapping up a long spring break trip, will venture to Clinton, S.C., Tuesday for a two-game series at Presbyterian.

NOTES

Gardner-Webb won for the first time this season when scoring less than 10 runs ... The Diamond 'Dogs improved to 2-1 all-time against Ivy League squads in baseball ... Josh Drewery, the A-Sun's Player of the Week, is currently riding a five-game hitting streak ... Jeremiah Lokken (seven games) and Justin Loyd (five games) are also amidst active hitting streaks.