ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Interstat) — Charley Magoulick launched a decisive three-run homer in the seventh inning, and the Rider Broncs held off a late rally to defeat the UNC Asheville Bulldogs 10-8 in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader at Greenwood Baseball Field.

The game, played before an afternoon crowd of 450, saw the undefeated Broncs (3-0) build a large early lead, nearly surrender it, and then rely on Magoulick’s power and a parade of relievers to secure the win. The Bulldogs fell to 2-6.

Rider’s offense erupted in the second inning, sending eight men to the plate and scoring four runs. Matt Leahy’s double set the table, and Anthony Paskell and Erich Hartmann followed with run-scoring hits. Hartmann’s two-run double to right-center gave the Broncs a 4-0 advantage.

UNC Asheville answered forcefully in the third, batting around to plate five runs and chase Rider starter Kyle Batt. The Bulldogs strung together five hits, including a two-run single from Patrick Gillen and a two-run single from Owen Michelson, to take a 5-4 lead.

The Broncs reclaimed the lead for good in the fifth. Paskell walked, Hartmann doubled, and a Kobe Neri groundout brought in one run. Hartmann then scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-5. Rider added another in the sixth on an RBI single from Paskell and a run that scored on a Bulldogs fielding error.

The most important sequence of the game came in the top of the seventh. With two on and two out, Magoulick, who had been hitless in his last eight at-bats dating to Friday, connected for a three-run home run to right-center off reliever Garrett Crum. The blast extended Rider’s lead to 10-6 and proved to be the winning margin.

Magoulick finished 3 for 5 with the homer and three RBIs. Hartmann also had three hits and two RBIs, while Paskell added two hits and two RBIs for Rider, which tallied 13 hits as a team.

UNC Asheville’s Ben Green was a standout in defeat, going 4 for 5 with a solo home run in the fifth inning. Gillen drove in two runs for the Bulldogs, who collected 11 hits but left 12 runners on base.

After the Bulldogs’ big third inning, Rider’s bullpen combined for 6 1/3 innings of four-run ball to steady the game. Jake Dorety earned the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Jack Ruditzky, Chris Montone and Alex D’Ambrosio followed, with D’Ambrosio recording the final two outs in the ninth for the save.

The Bulldogs made a final push in the bottom of the ninth. Trailing 10-7, they loaded the bases with one out. A wild pitch allowed one run to score, cutting the deficit to 10-8 and moving the tying run into scoring position. D’Ambrosio, however, struck out Jacob Torbett and got Justin Minarik to ground out to the pitcher to end the game.

Crum took the loss for UNC Asheville, allowing three earned runs over 3 1/3 innings.

The victory defied a pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 4-0 Bulldogs win, though the service’s ELO rating system gave Rider a 65.1% probability to win.

The teams were scheduled to conclude the doubleheader later Saturday evening.