With one out and a runner on first in the bottom of the eighth with the score tied at two, Jacob "Shaggy" Freeland stepped to the plate. The senior scorched a 2-0 pitch over the center field wall to lift the Eagles over Bethel 4-2 in a SSAC semifinal thriller Friday night at Paterson Field in downtown Montgomery. 

Though the longball ruled the night end the end, the pitchers set the law throughout. Antonio Frias (JR/Panama City, Panama) went six and two-thirds fanning eight batters and allowing just two hits and no earned runs. Brandon Suttles (SR/Panama City, Fla.) earned the win pitching two and one-third in shutout relief striking out two and allowing just one run. Bethel's pitching staff of Ryan Robertson and Giovannie Nieves combined to allow just three hits over eight innings. Nieves struck out seven Eagles over three and two-thirds. Faulkner entered the botton of the fifth with nary a hit and the Wildcats with just one. 

All of that changed on a Bo Seccombe (JR/Tallahassee, Fla.) pinch hit to lead off the fifth. Facing a full count, Seccombe ripped the ball high and deep to open the scoring. John Michael Mathews (JR/Birmingham, Ala.) singled the next at bat. After a fly out, the top of the Eagle lineup drew three consecutive walks were drawn by Marcus Ragan (SR/Vicksburg, Miss.), Te'kwaan Whyte (SR/Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Max Guzman (JR/Miami, Fla.) to tally the shortstop. 

Bethel battled back and drew even when a bunt with runners on first and second was fielded and thrown erroneously to third by Frias allowing both Wildcats on board to score, drawing the game even in the top of the sixth. 

The stalemate was broken in the eighth with a Hagen Holmstead (JR/Salt Lake City, Utah) grounder to third which was thrown wildly, allowing the second baseman to reach second. Mike Battle (JR/Birmingham, Ala.) replaced Holmstead on the baselines and had the easiest pinch running assignment of his career, to trot around and score the eventual game winning run off the two-run blast from Freeland. 

The Eagles advance to the SSAC Baseball Championship title game Saturday against Mobile. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at Paterson Field.