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ABILENE -- West Alabama scored seven runs in its final two at-bats to rally past Abilene Christian, 8-4, Friday afternoon in the winner's bracket game of the NCAA Division II South Central Region baseball tournament at Crutcher Scott Field. Abilene Christian (44-17) will try to keep its season alive Saturday with a noon elimination game against either Montevallo (Ala.) or Southern Arkansas. West Alabama (42-21) will play Incarnate Word in a 4 p.m. elimination game. ACU led throughout much of the game before the wheels came off in the bottom of the seventh inning. With the Wildcats leading 2-1, the Tigers put five runs on the board, thanks to four hits and one ACU error. With one out and the bases loaded, Jacob Townsend doubled down the left field to drive in a pair of runs and give the Tigers their first lead of the day at 3-2. After Roberto Martinez was hit by a pitch to re-load the bases, William Crawford doubled to left-centerfield to drive in two more and push the lead to 5-2. Another run scored on a groundout to make it a 6-2 game going to the eighth inning. The Wildcats, though, got back in the game in the top of the eighth when Danny Williams and Johnny Zepeda singled to lead off the inning. With one out, Alec Sowards singled to left to drive in Williams and cut the lead to 6-3. Matt McGuire was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Chris Walsh dumped an RBI single into right-centerfield to drive in Zepeda to make it a 6-4 game. But with the bases loaded, Ruben Rivera grounded into an inning-ending double play to end ACU's last serious threat. West Alabama got those two runs back in the bottom of the eighth inning on three straight two-out doubles, putting the game back out of reach. Brandon Wheeler -- who came into the game in the eighth inning -- pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to finish off the Wildcats and record his 10th save of the season.
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