Jacob Barber stroked a two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning of Saturday's second game against USA South rival Methodist to give the Mary Baldwin baseball team an 8-7 victory and a split in the doubleheader against the first-place Monarchs.

In the opener, Methodist scored in five of the first six innings, including a four-run second on a grand slam homer and another four-run outburst in the fourth inning, to pull away for a 13-1 win in eight innings.  MBU's allowed 12 hits, seven walks and three errors in the first game. 

Offensively, Kelly Hackley Jr. had three hits while Michael Muller and Tyler Morley each had two as the Methodist pitchers scattered nine hits and three walks over eight innings but got out of several jams with two double plays and struck out seven MBU hitters.

In the nightcap, MBU starter Cody Hoffer kept the visitors in check for four innings before Methodist gradually pulled away with two runs in the fifth, two more in the sixth and three in the seventh.  Down 7-0, MBU started to rebound.

The hosts scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh, highlighted by a two-run line-drive homer to left by Trevor Hebner.  In the eighth, MBU cut the lead to 7-6 on a Hackley solo homer and an RBI groundout by Hebner.  

In the top of the ninth, Methodist threatened to pad its lead before Morley scooped up a grounder at second base while stepping on the bag, then firing to first to complete the inning-ending double play.  In the home ninth, Isiah Brooks led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Carter Attard.  Barber then ripped a line-drive at the scoreboard in left field to give the Fighting Squirrels their third win in the last six games.

Blake Argenbright hurled the final 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, to get his first career win.  

The Monarchs and Fighting Squirrels complete their three-game series Sunday with a single game starting at noon.