ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Interstat) — The UNC Asheville Bulldogs capitalized on a pivotal five-run fifth inning to pull away from the Alabama A&M Bulldogs for an 8-4 victory in non-conference baseball action Friday at Greenwood Baseball Field.

In a matchup of teams sharing the same nickname, UNC Asheville evened its season record at 7-7, while Alabama A&M fell to 3-9.

The game’s decisive turn came in the bottom of the fifth inning, breaking a 4-4 deadlock. UNC Asheville sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring five runs on four hits to seize control. The rally began against reliever Evan Hurlburt and continued against Will Tarpley. Jake Minarik, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, started the inning with a single. After a pinch-hit single by Ethan Krumpe and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, Cole McGinnis drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly. Klingemann followed with an RBI single, and later in the inning, Lance Lowe and Peyton Gillen added run-scoring hits to stretch the lead to 7-4.

Minarik provided an exclamation point in the sixth inning, launching a solo home run to left field to cap the scoring at 8-4. He finished 3 for 4 with three runs scored. Zeb Swangim also had a strong day for UNC Asheville, going 3 for 3 with a double, a walk, an RBI and a run scored.

Alabama A&M had built an early 4-0 lead, scoring once in the third and three more times in the fifth. Brycen Hammonds drove in the game’s first run with an RBI single in the third. In the fifth, Wilmer Cueva delivered a two-out RBI single to tie the game at 4-4 after UNC Asheville had surged ahead.

The home team’s comeback began in the third inning, taking advantage of an Alabama A&M error to score four times, all unearned against starter Edyn Barber. Blaize Johnson ignited the rally with an RBI triple and later scored on a wild pitch. Swangim and McGinnis contributed RBI hits to tie the game.

UNC Asheville’s bullpen combination of Branden Barna and Ryland Howell secured the win after starter Lucas Boesen worked into the fifth inning. Barna earned the win, allowing no runs on one hit over 2 1/3 innings of relief. Howell collected a save with 2 1/3 scoreless frames, despite Alabama A&M loading the bases in the ninth.

Alabama A&M pushed across two runs in the final inning on an RBI single by Zak Rice and a fielder’s choice by Evan Wells, but Howell induced a pop-up with the bases loaded to end the game.

AJ Anderson led Alabama A&M’s 10-hit attack, going 4 for 5. Cueva and Rice each added two hits.

The victory aligned with pregame projections from Interstat, which gave UNC Asheville an 81.5% probability to win and projected a final score of 8-3.

The two teams are scheduled to continue their series with a doubleheader on Saturday.