Hamilton College exploded for nine runs in the top of the ninth inning and the Continentals posted a 14-3 non-conference win against the Knox College Prairie Fire at Northeast Regional Park in Davenport, Fla., on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Continentals (3-2 overall) took a 1-0 lead in the second. Greg Kopp '25 led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a throwing error by the pitcher on a failed pickoff attempt. Jack Griffin '24 singled to right field, advancing Kopp to third. Jackson Johns '24 roped a hard groundout to shortstop that drove in Kopp.
 
Knox (0-4) answered with a run in the bottom of the third. Holden Jones led off with a walk, advanced to third after a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch, and scored on a single to right center. Christopher McTeague, Jason Clark, and Cole Tanner accounted for the Prairie Fire's four hits with Tanner leading the team with two.
 
After a 44-minute lightning delay, Hamilton went in front for good with three runs in the fifth. Phil Bernstein '23 singled through the right side and stole second. Ethan Harrast '23 hit a liner up the middle that scored Bernstein. Brady Slinger '22 hit a dribbler up the first base line that advanced Harrast to third. Jackson Sattinger '24 grounded into a double play but Harrast scored on the play. Ethan Murphy '22 was hit by a pitch and Kenny Rix '25 hit a two-out single up the middle that moved Murphy into scoring position. Kopp kept the offense hot with a hard-hit single to right center that scored Murphy and put Hamilton up 4-1.
 
The Prairie Fire tallied a run in the bottom of the sixth when Tanner hit a triple to deep center field and was knocked in by Clark's single to center. Hamilton responded in the seventh with a run. Harrast led off with a double to right center and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Sattinger plated Harrast on a sacrifice fly.
 
Knox pulled back within two at 5-3 in the bottom half of the inning. McTeague produced a hard-hit single to shortstop, stole second and scored on an infield error.
 
Fourteen Continentals batted in the ninth inning as Hamilton scored nine runs on eight hits, two walks, an error and a hit batsman. Johns got the offense going with a single through the right side and stole second. Bernstein drew a walk and Harrast laid down a bunt that advanced Johns and Bernstein. Slinger drove them in on a liner to center and advanced to second on a Knox failed pickoff attempt. Sattinger stepped up to the plate and hit a single in the left-center field gap that scored Harrast. Adam Wijaya '22 hit a sacrifice fly to right field that brought Slinger home, and Kopp kept the rally going with a two-run double to left center. Griffin was hit by a pitch and Bernstein came to the plate with two runners on. He hit a deep shot over the fence in right center for his first home run of the season and the second of his career.
 
Preston Perez '22 struck out the side in the ninth and earned his first career save with two scoreless innings and five strikeouts. Henry Tyler '25 picked up his first win as he allowed one earned run on two hits in 2.2 innings and struck out four.
 
Harrast finished 5-for-6 with three runs scored and Kopp went 4-for-4 with a walk and three runs batted in. Bernstein added a single and three runs scored to go with his three-run homer. Slinger ended up with three hits and two RBIs, and Sattinger recorded two hits and drove in two.
 
Hamilton is back in action on Thursday, March 17 for a doubleheader against St. Lawrence University at Northeast Regional Park in Davenport. First pitch is scheduled for 1:45 p.m.