Box Score MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Belhaven baseball team opened the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament on Wednesday with a thrilling 4-3 victory over William Carey in extra innings. The Blazers (39-17, 18-13 SSAC) now await a winner from the other half of their bracket, while the Crusaders (31-25, 17-14 SSAC) dropped their third game in four meetings with Belhaven this season. All four games between the two SSAC Western Division rivals have been decided by one run.

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"All our games with William Carey are hard fought and tough to win, and today's game was no different," Head Coach Hill Denson said. "It's big for us to stay in the winner's bracket."

Belhaven struck in the first inning, but after the next three frames went scoreless for both squads, the Crusaders managed to plate a run in the fifth before adding another in the sixth. With two outs and a pair of base runners in the ninth, Gabe Wilson grounded a ball to third, but first baseman Scott Fabre was unable to handle the throw. The Blazers scored the tying run but the celebration was put on hold when the Blazers stranded the winning run at third base.

William Carey scratched across a run in the top of the 10th, giving them a 3-2 lead, but the bottom half of the inning provided even more drama. Josiah Richard opened the frame with a single into center, and Reagan Rutledge was hit by a pitch to follow, signaling the end of the day for starter Josh Wood. Cody Deckwa was summoned out of the Crusader bullpen, and he ended his day seeing just one Belhaven hitter. Emilio DeSilva attempted to bunt both base runners over on a 1-1 count, but Deckwa's high throw to first allowed both runners to score, giving Belhaven a 4-3 victory in the tournament's opening game.

Perhaps the most excited person in the Belhaven dugout was starting pitcher Tyler Akins (3-1), who pitched all 10 innings and hurled more than 130 pitches before finally picking up his third win of the year. Despite an equally strong performance, Wood fell to 8-4 on the campaign and the Crusaders were forced to watch the Blazers celebrate at home plate.

"Tyler is our best pitcher without a doubt, and he paced himself well in this one," Denson said. "We purposely waited until late in the year to move him from the closer role to a starter, but he showed us why he's so valuable today."

At the plate, Richard finished as the only Blazer with a multi-hit game, while five teammates contributed a base hit. Paul Pickerell was credited with the Blazers' lone run batted in, but Belhaven was outhit by their Crusader counterparts.

Second baseman DJ Johnson sparked three base hits and an RBI from the leadoff spot, first baseman Scott Fabre added three hits of his own, and outfielder Aaron Brady chipped in two more. Clint Ambrosch and Sean Hodges each added another, giving William Carey ten hits on the contest.

The defending national champion Faulkner Eagles will take on 8^th seed Auburn University-Montgomery on Wednesday at 7:00 pm, and Belhaven is set to battle the winner of that game on Thursday at 7:00 pm. William Carey will face the loser of that contest, but with a double-elimination bracket and a thrilling first game, the 2014 SSAC Tournament is up for grabs.

"Tomorrow night is a huge game in this tournament, and we will have to get hits at the right time," Denson said. "That game can propel us or slow us down, so we need to be ready."