Harfst Walk-off Lifts Cobras Over Jaguars, 6-5

by Christian Stryker, SID Coker College
3/31/2009

Hartsville, S.C. - With two outs in the bottom of the tenth inning, with the score tied 5-5, Coker's BK Harfst (Arvada, CO) sent the first pitch he saw from Augusta State's Patrick Lowe deep over the left field fence for a walk-off solo home run to win the game 6-5. The homer, Harfst's first of the season, capped an unbelievable back and forth contest between the Cobras and the Jaguars.

The win improves the Cobras to 17-17 on the year, while Augusta State drops to 18-18 overall.

Harfst finished the game 4-for-6 with a homer, three RBIs and three runs scored, while Trevin Taber (Chesnee, SC), Kyle Walker (Centralia, IL) and Matt Ammons (Chester, SC) each had two hits and an RBI for the Cobras, with Karl Ankersen (Mt. Pleasant, SC) also getting two hits in the game.

For Augusta State, Shannon Wilkerson was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two RBIs and a run scored, while Adam King was 2-for-2 off the bench with a double and two RBIs and Tim Rawlings was 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Josh Daniels (Troy, IL) (2-3) picked up the win in relief, tossing an inning and two-thirds, allowing no runs and no hits. Lowe took the loss, going 3.1 innings, scattering four hits and allowing two runs, with a strikeout.

Augusta State jumped out to an early three run lead in the third, but Coker got one back in the bottom half of the inning. The Cobras took the 4-3 led in the sixth, thanks to a two run single from Harfst, but the Jaguars notched the tie run in the seventh. A Coker run in the eighth gave them the 5-4 led, but an RBI single from King tied the game at five and sent it to extra innings, where Harfst heroics came through in the bottom of the tenth.

Coker now prepares to take the field for their final home conference series of the season, as they host the defending national champion Mount Olive Trojans. Games one and two will be played on Saturday, followed by the third and final game on Sunday. Game time Saturday is noon and Sunday is at 1:00 p.m.