Tate Kight (right) gives ABAC baseball coach Brandon Reeder a low-five at third base after Kight's three-run home run put the Stallions ahead, 20-17 in the sixth.

TIFTON – There were plenty of stats the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Stallions didn’t want Friday.

Nineteen runs allowed. Six home runs served up. A 10-1 deficit in the second inning. Shockingly, those numbers were not the decisive ones.

Propelled by a 10-run fourth inning, the Stallions came back and kept coming back, over and over again. The contest was a marathon – four hours long – but in the end, it was ABAC on top, 22-19.

Matthew White went 5-for-5 on the evening, Tate Kight drove in six runs. What struck head coach ABAC Brandon Reeder the most was, believe it or not, pitching.

“You gotta give credit to Slayton Marina,” said Reeder. Marina was ABAC’s third pitcher, entering at the top of the fifth and lasting all the way into the eighth, earning the win. “He hasn’t thrown that many pitches since he’s been here,” Reeder said.

“He kept us in the game,” said Reeder. Four runs crossed during those frames for the visitors, but the Stallions’ leader said his effort was enough. “Pat [Reed] pitched out of a big spot with their best hitter [Joey DeMasi] up.”

On the strength of three West Georgia Tech home runs, including a grand slam by Jacob Warren, the Stallions found themselves behind nine runs when they went to the plate in the bottom of the second inning.

Reeder admitted it was difficult looking at that score. “We were looking over there, telling each other it was going to be a really long game.”

They cut into that lead a bit in the second. Salik Williams singled to knock in Zac Hill. Sam Bennett followed with an RBI double driving in Cole Melancon, then Matthew White doubled into no man’s land, bringing the score to 10-5.

Things then got bleak again. DeMasi homered in two runs, the Golden Knights scored four over the third and fourth innings. It was 14-5.

“There were a lot of situations we could have folded up,” Reeder said.

Unbelievably, ABAC took the lead in the bottom of the frame. Fourteen men went to the plate in the 10-run outburst, which started with a simple single by Gunner George.

West Georgia Tech’s Isaac Miller recorded the first out of fourth on a fly to left field. He didn’t record another.

Bennett doubled in George. White walked and Bennett scored on Tate Kight’s double. Ben Tuten hit a single that snaked past second base, which drove in two men. After Austin Walls and Hill reached to load the bases, the Golden Knights opted to go to reliever Chris Keever.

Keever was rudely greeted by a three-run triple by Melancon and suddenly the score was 14-12. George, the 10th man to bat, doubled after Melancon raced home on a wild pitch. After 10 men in a row reached base for the Stallions, WGT recorded its second out, a sacrifice fly by Bennett that tied the game.

White hit a single, scoring Williams and ABAC had a 15-14 advantage.

Though the squads had already worked up a respectable football score, there was plenty more baseball to be played.

Warren mashed his second homer of the night, good for two runs with DeMasi coming in ahead of him. That swung the score to 16-15.

ABAC responded, tying it at 16-all. Hill earned a two-out walk, stole second, then came around on a Melancon hit.

Noah Mills gave West Georgia the lead again at 17-16 as he scored from second with a slide on a JoJo Kelliher hit. Though not done with runs, that ended up being their last lead of the night.

White drove in Williams for run No. 17 for ABAC. With White and Bennett on first and second, respectively, Kight hit a towering home run to left field. The Stallions now had 20 runs to their opponent’s 17.

DeMasi hit a solo shot in the top the seventh, but Marina held firm. He walked the first two men in the eighth (one was erased on a pickoff), giving way to Reed.

Reed, a former Tift County High product, struck out his first man, but loaded the bases with walks. DeMasi hit a long fly ball to deep center, but the park held it. Though an uneasy 20-18, the Stallions were assured of having a ninth inning lead.

Apparently worried about runs, Reeder got a double steal from Bennett and White after they reached in the eighth. Kight brought in both insurance runs with a double.

With a four-run cushion at 22-18, the Stallions weren’t too worried when Max Tracey scored on Mills’ sacrifice fly, especially as there were two outs. Reed ended it by getting a foul pop to Melancon.

White provided ABAC’s initial run on a first inning homer. The wind was blowing out in the early innings, causing not just home runs but all kinds of tricky situations. Both teams saw pop-ups escape their grasp before it finally died down.

DeMasi went 2-for-4 for West Georgia and scored five runs. He and Warren each had two home runs. Warren drove in sixth on the strength of the grand slam. Malcolm Falardeau had a 4-RBI game.

Kight drove in six ABAC runs, White knocked home five and Melancon delivered four. White and Bennett scored four times each.

The Stallions have a doubleheader Saturday with West Georgia Tech, starting at 1 p.m.

A few of the wilder stats from Friday’s game:

– Everyone in the starting lineup for both teams, sans WGT’s Khaalis King, scored at least once. King was injured after his single to open the game. His replacement scored twice. All players had achieved this by the sixth inning. All ABAC starters had scored by the end of the fourth.

– There was only one 1-2-3 inning for either side. The Stallions went in order in the bottom of the seventh.

– Seven ABAC players had six plate appearances. Six did for West Georgia Tech.

– DeMasi and Warren homered twice. Other long balls were from Tracey and Falardeau.

– Both starting pitchers gave up 10 earned runs.