SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Interstat) — Brady Small’s pinch-hit, three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning tied the score, and Henry Zenor’s go-ahead single later in the same frame lifted South Carolina Upstate to a 10-9 victory over Northern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at Cleveland S. Harley Baseball Park.

The Spartans improved to 29-27 overall, while the Norse fell to 24-28. South Carolina Upstate won its second consecutive game against Northern Kentucky after an 8-7 win Friday.

Josh Williams of Northern Kentucky went 5 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs, but his performance was overshadowed by the Spartans’ rally. Pierce Bauerle added two hits, including a solo homer in the ninth inning, and drove in a run for the Norse. Mark Nowak collected three hits.

For South Carolina Upstate, Zenor finished 3 for 4 with two RBIs, and Maloy Heaghney had two hits and two RBIs. Jacob Kirby earned the win in relief, allowing one earned run on four hits over four innings with three strikeouts.

Northern Kentucky jumped ahead in the first inning. Bauerle singled and stole second, then scored on a walk and a pair of strikeouts, but the Norse did not push across a run in the opening frame. The score remained 0-0 until the bottom of the first, when South Carolina Upstate struck for two runs. T. Bentley’s single scored Zenor, and J. Armsey’s single brought home T. Lang.

The Norse answered in the top of the second. Nowak doubled and advanced to third on a throwing error by the pitcher on a failed pickoff attempt. Bray Rogers walked, and with two outs, Nowak stole home on a double steal. Northern Kentucky took a 3-2 lead, but the Spartans responded immediately.

In the bottom of the second, with two outs, Zenor doubled to bring home Small, and Heaghney doubled to score Zenor. J. Sweeney singled to drive in Heaghney, giving the Spartans a 5-3 lead.

Northern Kentucky tied the game in the top of the third. Williams homered to right-center, and after a hit batter and a walk, Rogers singled to score another run. The score became 5-5.

The Spartans regained the lead in the bottom of the third. A. Ritzer walked, and Zenor singled. Heaghney singled to drive in Ritzer, making it 6-5.

The game turned dramatically in the top of the fifth. With two outs, Northern Kentucky erupted for four runs. Alex Brazer singled home two runs, Jak Paulick singled in another, and Williams doubled down the right-field line to drive in two more. The Norse took a 9-6 lead.

South Carolina Upstate’s pitching change to Jacob Kirby in the top of the sixth stopped the momentum. Kirby retired the side in order in the sixth, setting the stage for the Spartans’ decisive rally.

In the bottom of the sixth, Sweeney walked and Bentley walked. Armsey sacrificed them into scoring position. After a strikeout, Small, who had entered the game earlier as a pinch runner, launched a three-run homer to right-center, tying the game at 9-9. Ritzer then singled, stole second, and scored on Zenor’s single to give the Spartans a 10-9 lead.

Northern Kentucky mounted a threat in the top of the ninth. Bauerle led off with a solo home run to left-center, cutting the deficit to 10-9. But Kirby retired the next three batters, striking out one and inducing two groundouts, to end the game.

Tannis Lange pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings of relief for Northern Kentucky, but Ryan Gill took the loss after allowing two earned runs in 2 2-3 innings. For the Spartans, Juan Reyes tossed two scoreless innings of relief before Kirby took over.

The game featured a combined 25 hits and several lead changes, but Small’s pinch-hit homer proved to be the decisive blow.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of South Carolina Upstate 7, Northern Kentucky 6, and its ELO system had given the Spartans a 73.70 percent probability to win.