Jacob Barber's RBI single in the ninth inning, his second hit of the day, pushed the winning run across home plate in the top of the ninth inning in Mary Baldwin's 5-3 USA South baseball victory at Pfeiffer Saturday in the first game of a three-game weekend series.

The win lifts MBU's record to 6-24 overall, 4-9 in the USA South heading into Sunday's doubleheader at Pfeiffer (noon).  The four victories equals the most conference wins in the team's five varsity seasons, equaling the high mark set in 2023.

Kelly Hackley Jr.'s RBI sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning erased a 1-0 deficit, but the host Falcons regained the lead in the home half of the third.  The Fighting Squirrels answered back with two runs in the top of the fourth on RBI hits by Earnesty and Michael Muller.

Pfeiffer needed four innings to even the game, scoring the game-tying run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth.  Barber then plated the game-winner in the top of the ninth and and Hackley Jr. added an insurance tally on a balk to complete the scoring.

Muller finished with a team-high three hits while Barber, Hackley Jr., Earnesty, Camden Bauswell and Michael Connor each contributed twice to the Fighting Squirrels' 14-hit attack.

The MBU pitching duo of Cody Hoffer and Lance Gowans combined to hold the Falcons to three earned runs, scattering seven hits and eight walks while fanning six.  The defense also supported the strong pitching effort with just one error and a double play.