SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Interstat) — The South Carolina Upstate Spartans staged a dramatic comeback Thursday night, scoring twice in the bottom of the 10th inning to defeat the Elon Phoenix 7-6 at Cleveland S. Harley Baseball Park.

Elon, which entered with a 20-33 record, took an early lead and held a 6-5 advantage entering the final frame. But the Spartans, improving to 27-27, capitalized on two unearned runs to secure the walk-off victory.

South Carolina Upstate starting pitcher Chris Torres earned top-star honors, working five innings and allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out three. Torres’ outing continued a strong stretch; he had thrown seven scoreless innings against Presbyterian on May 8 and allowed five earned runs in a win over Gardner-Webb on May 1.

The Phoenix struck first in the top of the third inning. With two outs, designated hitter Brian DuRoff doubled to right-center, driving in two runs to give Elon a 2-0 lead. DuRoff finished 2 for 5 with two RBIs.

South Carolina Upstate answered in the bottom of the fourth. After loading the bases with no outs, the Spartans used a sacrifice fly from Lucas, a fielder’s choice by Ritzer and a single from Zenor to plate three runs and take a 3-2 lead.

Elon reclaimed the lead in the top of the seventh, scoring three unearned runs. Akopov singled and later scored on a throwing error. Alford followed with an RBI single, and a second error allowed another run to cross, putting the Phoenix up 5-3.

The Spartans chipped away in the bottom of the ninth. Heaghney led off with a double and scored on a fielding error by the shortstop, cutting Elon’s lead to 5-4.

Elon responded in the top of the 10th. DuRoff doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Pinch hitter Kevin Denty then doubled down the left-field line, scoring DuRoff to make it 6-4.

In the bottom of the 10th, South Carolina Upstate mounted its final rally. After two quick outs, Armsey walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. Lucas then reached on a fielding error by the first baseman, allowing Armsey to score and tying the game at 6-6. Waters followed with a single up the middle, scoring Lucas with the winning run.

Owen Winebarger pitched three innings of scoreless relief for Elon, allowing no hits and one earned run with three strikeouts. Michael Staiano threw four innings, giving up three earned runs but no hits, and struck out four. Tommy Mitchell contributed two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. RJ Latkowski took the loss, allowing two unearned runs in two-thirds of an inning.

For the Spartans, Reece Hemmerling pitched four innings of relief, allowing one earned run on four hits with one strikeout. Max Eichenberger worked the top of the 10th, giving up one earned run on two hits while striking out two. Henry Zenor went 2 for 5 with an RBI.

Elon out-hit South Carolina Upstate 9-11, but the Spartans took advantage of two sacrifice flies and three Phoenix errors.

The two teams met May 5 in Spartanburg, with the Spartans winning 18-4. Elon had won its previous game, 10-3 at Queens (N.C.) on Tuesday. South Carolina Upstate entered Thursday’s contest after a 6-3 win over Clemson on Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of South Carolina Upstate 7, Elon 3. The Interstat ELO system gave the Spartans a 67.10 percent probability to win.