CLEVELAND, Miss. – A war of attrition defined the first elimination game of the NCAA South Regional as West Alabama and Miles College combined for 32 runs, but it was the Tigers who emerged 17-15 victors on Friday at Ferriss Field.
 
The No. 6 seeded Tigers (35-20) will move on to face the loser of the No. 1 Delta State (41-11)-No. 4 Florida Southern (35-15) game at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The No. 7 Golden Bears (31-23) are eliminated from the tournament.
 
"That was an offense-heavy game," UWA head coach Gary Rundles said. "It's one of those situations where you're glad you have the last at-bat because you know you always have three outs to work with.
 
"We gave ourselves the lead and then made some mistakes and let them back in it. You have to tip your hat to Miles because they had every opportunity to lay down and fold and they didn't. They showed a lot of character for themselves and represented their university well."
 
The Tigers got on the board early, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a two-out, solo blast over left field off the bat of Luke Phillips, his third of the season.
 
UWA continued to bring a strong plate presence in the next frame as Josh Winningham reached on a one-out walk and advanced to third on a Golden Bear throwing error. Designated hitter Luke Latham hit the gap in right center to drive Winningham home on the junior's fourth double of the year.
 
Brock Montgomery laid out an infield single on the next at-bat, allowing Tyler Lee, who got aborad via fielder's choice two batters prior, to cross the plate for a 3-0 West Alabama lead.
 
However, Miles's Damion Williams placed a lead off double in the right centerfield gap to lead off the Golden Bear third and advanced to third base on a Tiger fielding error. A sacrifice fly from Gary Mason, Jr., on the next at-bat pushed Williams home, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
 
The Tigers saw Williams' 270-foot sprint around the base paths and called them with one of their own in the bottom of the frame as Dylan Little ripped a lead-off triple down the left field line and scored on a single from Winningham two batters later, re-establishing a three-run UWA advantage.
 
Miles responded in the top of the fourth as Xavius Burden reached on a lead off single and moved to second following a Peyton Logan walk. The Tigers' second error of the day allowed both runners to cross the plate for a pair of unearned runs, closing the gap down to one run.
 
Darione Adkison, who reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to second on the previous error, stole third before Williams drove in the Golden Bear right fielder to tie the game at four-all.
 
West Alabama again responded as Nick Delgado led-off the UWA fourth with a double down the right field line, while a Miles error and a hit-by-pitch filled the bases with no outs.
 
Sacrifice flies from Little and Winningham pushed two Tiger runs across the plate, and an MJ Morrisette double drove in another for a 7-4 West Alabama lead. Lee cranked out his second two-run blast in as many days before the dust settled, jumping UWA out to a 9-4 lead.
 
The Golden Bears again cut into the Tigers' lead as Kolby Brannon picked up a run-batted-in after drawing a walk with the bases loaded, pulling Miles within four in the fifth.
 
After back-to-back singles off the bats of Taylor Stafford and Phillips, Morrisette cleared the bases with a three-run, two-out homer in the bottom of the frame, further extending the UWA lead to 12-5.
 
Miles continued to eat at the UWA lead as lead-off batter Trevor Bates wore a pitch and advance to second on a single from Roderick Ransom. A single up the middle from Reaves Brashear scored Bates, while a sacrifice bunt from Ryan Bargery allowed Ransom to cross the plate, moving the score line to 12-7.
 
Adkison lined a double into left field three batters later to chase Burden and Brashear home, pulling the Golden Bears within three. Brannon ripped another double in the same location to drive Adkison and Logan home before a two-run blast off Williams' bat moved the SIAC champs ahead of the Tigers 13-12.
 
"It's disappointing to give up a lead like that, but, again, this was an opportunity for this team to lay down, but that's just not what this team does," Rundles said. "They have battled all year."
 
West Alabama snuck the tying run in as Morrisette finessed a high fly ball between three Golden Bears in shallow right field, allowing Little, who doubled on the previous at-bat to cross the plate. Morrisette stole second and later scored on a gapper from Winningham, giving UWA the lead back in the seventh, 14-13.
 
Miles answered the call once more in the eighth, tying the game at 14 with an unearned run as Brannon reached on an error and later scored on a single from Ransom. After Brashear drew a walk and Ransom advanced to second, Bargery singled to left field, driving Ransom home for a 15-14 Miles advantage.
 
The battle continued in the bottom of the inning as the Tigers loaded the bases with just one out, allowing Phillips to tie the game for the fourth time with an RBI walk. On the next at-bat Morrisette punched a double up the middle to score Brock Montgomery and Stafford, putting UWA ahead once again, 17-15.
 
"MJ had two strikes and drove the ball up the middle to score the two runs at the eighth," Rundles said, "but all throughout the game our guys kept putting runs on the board and kept challenging and pressuring them until they finally ran out of outs."
 
Morrisette led the Tiger charge, totaling a team-high four hits and seven RBI and was a triple shy of the cycle. Winningham followed with three hits and three RBI, while Lee and Phillips each tacked on two hits, two RBI and a home run apiece.
 
Williams and Burden paced the Golden Bears with three hits, while Williams and Brannon's three RBI each co-led all Miles batters.
 
Jonathan Porter (5-3) earned the pitching win in relief, disallowing an earned run on three hits while sitting down two in three innings of work. Jason Schuster (2-4) takes the loss, giving up six runs, all earned, on eight hits in relief of starter Austin Pate.