The University of Mary Washington baseball team sped ahead for a 5-1 lead, saw it slip away, and rebounded in the bottom of the ninth for a 6-5 win over York College in the first round of the NCAA Division III South Regional in Fayetteville, N.C., on Wednesday evening. The Eagles advance to play LaGrage College, who defeated Salisbury University, 3-1, on Thursday in Fayetteville at 6 p.m.

York took an early lead in the game with one run in the first. UMW tied the score in the bottom of the second after junior right fielder Jackson Clement (Fairfax, Va., Woodson) doubled and scored on an error. The Eagles took a 2-1 lead in the fifth when senior shortstop Seamus Bergen (Fredericksburg, Va., Chancellor) reached on an error and scored on a double by junior pitcher Eric Rehbein (Alexandria, Va., Gonzaga).

UMW surged ahead with three runs in the seventh. With one out, Bergen doubled and scored on an RBI single from senior left fielder Will Wright (St. Louis, Mo., St. Louis Priory). Wright stole second and scored on an Alex Howell (Glen Allen, Va., Hermitage) RBI single. Clement singled to score Howell, who came around to third on one of York's five errors in the game.

York knotted the score with three runs in the eighth and one in the ninth, but UMW answered in its final at bat, as Rehbein led off with a walk, Wright singled, and Howell was hit by a pitch before Clement singled to score the winning run.

Clement led UMW with a double, two singles, a run scored, and two RBI. Wright was 2-5 with a run scored and an RBI, Rehbein and Howell each went 1-4 with a run scored and RBI, and Bergen was 1-5 with two runs scored. York was led by Kyle Cook's three hits.

Sophomore Ryan Engelking (Silver Spring, Md., DeMatha) got the win for the Eagles after allowing one earned run in 1.1 innings on two hits. Rehbein scattered seven hits and four earned runs with three walks and three strikeouts.