FAYETTEVILLE- Matt Skirving hit a walk-off single and the Fayetteville Swampdogs rallied from two runs down to win a wild one 7-6 at J.P. Riddle Stadium in Fayetteville.
Skirving laced an 0-1 pitch from Drew Mahaffey into left field to score Michael Niemann on an RBI single.
Columbia struck in the first inning after Matt Leeds hit a two-run home run, his second of the season, to spot the Blowfish a 2-0 lead.
Fayetteville answered right away, however. Niemann tripled in the bottom of the first to score Jared Humphreys. Columbia starting pitcher Stew Brase next walked Brendan Rowland to put runners on first and third with no outs. Rowland then attempted to steal second and got caught in a rundown. Niemann snuck home on the play and avoided a tag to tie the game. Rowland came around on a Eric Grabe groundout as the Swampdogs took the lead 3-2. Jeremiah Meiners came in to replace Brase as the starter lasted only a third of an inning.
The Blowfish tied the game 3-3 in the fourth after Shawn Glover doubled and later scored on a Gabe Grammar sacrifice fly. Columbia took the lead in the next inning after Nick Chinners doubled and scored on Trent Still's single to make it 4-3 Blowfish.
Fayetteville evened the score again in the fifth after Humphreys scored on a passed ball to tie the game 4-4.
Fayetteville relinquished the lead once again in the sixth inning after the Swampdogs' shortstop Humphreys misplayed a Catlin Carter ground ball on a fielding error. Cameron White scored on the play to make it 5-4 Columbia. The Blowfish added an insurance run in the seventh after Still singled and later scored on a fielder's choice by Shawn Glover to give Columbia a 6-4 advantage.
The eighth was a wild affair for Fayetteville. Niemann led off the inning with a single and was safe at second after Blowfish second baseman Carter dropped a pop fly by Rowland. Both players advanced on a stolen bases, but Columbia pitcher Drew Mahaffey retired the next two batters to put runners on second and third with two outs. Nathaniel Lami appeared to ground out to shortstop to end the inning, but a catcher's interference was called on Shawn Glover to load the bases. Grabe then singled to score both Niemann and Rowland as the Swampdogs rallied to tie the game 6-6.
The loss ruined a solid relief appearance for Jeremiah Meiners, who was in line for the win after pitching six innings, giving up only an unearned run on three hits in six innings.
Tom Schmidt (4-0) picked up his fourth win. Mahaffey (0-1) suffered the blown save and loss despite not allowing an earned run.
Notes: Leeds is 6-for-13 (.462) with two home runs and a double since returning from a knee injury...The Blowfish have now committed three catcher's interferences. Only one other team (Petersburg) has committed one the entire season...The Blowfish fall to 0-6 in games decided by two runs or less...The Swampdogs take a 3-1 lead in the series between the two teams... The Blowfish return home to take on Florence at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at Capital City Stadium.
