GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Dax Roper hammered a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Furman past The Citadel, 5-4, in Southern Conference baseball action Friday evening at Latham Stadium.

Roper, who cranked a 10th inning walk-off home run in Furman's last home game, an 11-10 victory over Ohio State on Mar. 11, deposited a two-ball, one-strike offering from Bulldog reliever Alex Bialakis well up onto the hill beyond the left field fence to secure the victory.

Roper's ninth inning heroics capped a comeback for Furman (8-16, 1-3 SoCon), which trailed 4-1 after seven innings before tying it with three runs in a wild eighth.  After Anthony Fontana's two-out RBI double scored Roper to cut the lead to 4-2, Bulldog relievers Zach Taglieri and Ian Foggo combined to hit four consecutive Paladin batters to drive in the final two runs of the frame that tied it at 4-4.

The Citadel (9-17, 2-2 SoCon) opened the ninth with a pair of singles but saw its chance to take the lead fizzle when a double play was awarded Furman to base runner interference.  Following an intentional walk, Paladin reliever Jordan Beatson picked off the Bulldogs' Ryan McCarthy attempting to steal third base to end the inning.

Bulldogs' starting pitcher Jordan Merritt checked the Paladins over the first seven innings, surrendering only one run on eight hits while striking out nine.  The senior right-hander pitched out of trouble in the third and fourth, stranding a pair of base runners in both frames, and in the fifth allowed three hits but only one run.  The Charleston product retired the last nine batters he faced before being lifted after seven innings.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the first, The Citadel made it 3-0 in the third on Ben Peden's two-run double.

The Bulldogs stretched it 4-0 in the fifth on a two-out, RBI double off the bat of Andrew Judkins.

Furman got on the board on the fifth on a John Michael Boswell single thru the left side that drove home David Webel.

Sterling Turmon, Webel, Roper, Fontana all registered two-hit performances for Furman, which finished with 11 hits.

Roper's game winning long ball was his team leading sixth of the season.

The Citadel also finished with 11 hits, led by McCarthy's 3-for-5, two-run performance.

The win was credited to Beatson (3-1), who relieved Eric Taylor in the ninth.  The loss was charged to Bialakis (0-2).

The Paladins and Bulldogs play game two of the series on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

Hunter Reid, Sports Information