Wingate, N.C. – The Limestone University baseball team dropped a tough contest on the road against Wingate, falling 8-5 on Friday afternoon. Despite a strong fifth inning rally, the Saints couldn't hold off a late surge by the Bulldogs. Limestone moves to 21-22 overall (12-13 SAC), while Wingate improves to 22-21 (13-12 SAC).

Key Moments:

After a scoreless start through two innings, Wingate struck first with a three-run third inning, fueled by a two-RBI double from Breon Ishmael and an RBI single from Gavin Groppuso. Limestone responded in the top of the fifth with an impressive offensive burst.

The Saints loaded the bases and pushed across five runs, highlighted by RBIs from Jermie Green, Zach Greenberg, and Ben Partridge. Capitalizing on Bulldog errors, Limestone jumped ahead 5-3 midway through the game.

Wingate clawed one run back in the seventh after an errant throw allowed a run to score, trimming the Saints' lead to 5-4. The turning point came in the bottom of the eighth when Wingate exploded for four runs, including a clutch two-RBI double from Jordan Dixon and an RBI single from Joe Scheffler, giving the Bulldogs their final 8-5 edge.

Limestone put runners on in the eighth and ninth innings but couldn't bring them home as the Wingate bullpen closed the door.

The Saints will look to bounce back in game two and three of the weekend series on Saturday.