Bluffton kept its baseball season alive with an 8-5 win in 12 innings at Lakewood on Saturday in the Class 4A district playoffs.
Nate Hoyt’s three-run, inside-the-park home run broke a 5-5 tie in the top of the 12th to give the Bobcats the thrilling victory. Bluffton grabbed an early 5-0 lead before the host Gators chipped away and tied it with a run in the bottom of the seventh.
Cody Eldridge earned the win for Bluffton with 6 2/3 innings of relief, allowing one run and three hits with four strikeouts.
Hoyt was 2-for-6 with three RBIs, Grant Musselman was 3-for-6 with an RBI and a run, Anthony Storzieri was 2-for-5 with three runs, and Dillan Montenegro was 2-for-5 with two runs.
The Bobcats (10-12) will travel to South Aiken on Monday needing to beat the Thoroughbreds twice to claim the district title.