MILWAUKEE (Interstat) — In a game defined by resilience and missed opportunities, the Milwaukee Panthers rallied from an early four-run deficit and walked it off in the 11th inning to defeat the Northern Kentucky Norse 6-5 on Thursday night.

The victory, sealed by Carson Spence’s RBI single in the bottom of the 11th, gave the Panthers just their 10th win of the season against 24 losses. The Norse fell to 16-20 despite outhitting Milwaukee 13-11.

The game’s pivotal sequence began with one out in the 11th. Milwaukee’s Dylan O’Connell, who had been a constant threat all evening, drew a walk from Norse reliever J. Teke. O’Connell promptly stole second base, his fourth steal of the game. After Teke hit HADLEY with a pitch, Aaron Horn executed a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners.

Northern Kentucky intentionally walked Jack Marion to load the bases and set up a force play at any base. Spence, who had moved from designated hitter to catcher earlier in the game, then delivered the final blow, lacing a single to center field to score O’Connell with the winning run.

The ending was a fitting cap to a contest that saw Milwaukee repeatedly claw back. Northern Kentucky had established a commanding 5-0 lead before the Panthers even came to bat, capitalizing on five first-inning runs off starter Tannis Lange. The big blow was a two-run single up the middle by Dominic Kibler in the bottom of the first, which immediately cut the deficit to 5-2.

Milwaukee chipped away further in the third, scoring twice with the aid of a Northern Kentucky throwing error. An RBI groundout by O’Connell made it 5-4.

The Norse bullpen, led by Eli Green and later Gabe Stout, managed to hold that narrow lead into the late innings. Green provided 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief after replacing Lange in the fifth, stranding two runners in scoring position to end that threat.

Northern Kentucky appeared to seize control in the top of the seventh when shortstop Alex Brazer smashed a two-run double to right-center, scoring two to extend the lead to 7-4. But Milwaukee answered immediately in the bottom half. O’Connell singled, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on Horn’s RBI single to make it 7-5.

The Norse again pushed their lead to two runs in the ninth. A wild pitch allowed one run to score, and J. Williams followed with an RBI double for a 9-5 advantage.

Facing their final three outs, the Panthers mounted a dramatic rally in the bottom of the ninth against Stout. After a strikeout, Kibler doubled. Horn was intentionally walked, but Marion and Spence both flew out to end the game with the tying runs on base, sending it to extras tied at 9-9.

Both teams threatened in the 10th but failed to score. Northern Kentucky loaded the bases with one out but grounded into an inning-ending double play. Milwaukee put a runner in scoring position in the bottom half but could not bring him home, setting the stage for the 11th-inning heroics.

O’Connell finished with three hits, four stolen bases, two runs and an RBI for Milwaukee. Kibler added two hits and two RBIs. For Northern Kentucky, Brazer had three hits, including the key double, and two RBIs, while M. Harrison collected four hits.

The two teams continue their four-game series Friday night.