Scotland first baseman Turner Bounds catches a pop up during Tuesday night’s game against Southern Lee.
                                 Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

Scotland first baseman Turner Bounds catches a pop up during Tuesday night’s game against Southern Lee.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

<p>Scotland pitcher Blane Wagner throws a pitch during Tuesday night’s game against Southern Lee.</p>
                                 <p>Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

Scotland pitcher Blane Wagner throws a pitch during Tuesday night’s game against Southern Lee.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

<p>Scotland’s Alex Hatcher dives back onto first base during Tuesday night’s game against Southern Lee.</p>
                                 <p>Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

Scotland’s Alex Hatcher dives back onto first base during Tuesday night’s game against Southern Lee.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

<p>Scotland’s Jake Clemmons gets a base hit during Tuesday night’s game against Southern Lee.</p>
                                 <p>Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

Scotland’s Jake Clemmons gets a base hit during Tuesday night’s game against Southern Lee.

Photos| Brandon Hodge/ The Laurinburg Exchange

LAURINBURG — On a cold and gusty Tuesday night, the Scotland baseball team (6-0, 3-0 Sandhills Athletic Conference) led the Southern Lee Cavaliers (2-3, 1-2 SAC) by a score of 4-1 in the top of the seventh inning and were one out away from putting the game to bed — that is until Southern Lee’s Kale Scruggs hit a line drive and brought in Pierce Bouwman to make it a two-run deficit.

With Scruggs advancing to second on the throw, the Scots knew they needed a big play when it mattered.

Blane Wagner, who had made plenty of them on the mound most of the night, was the one to do so, as Southern Lee’s Cooper Harrington hit a ground ball to Wagner at third and made a throw on the run to first, helping Scotland down the Cavaliers 4-2.

“I just want to give a big shout out to Blane (Wagner),” Scotland head coach Ricky Schattauer said. “We took advantage of their (Southern Lee’s) mistakes and I guess it ended 4-2.”

Wagner opened the game pitching for the Scots and threw several key strikes in the win, including one in the fourth to Caleb Walters, ending the half inning with Southern Lee leaving the bases loaded.

Schattauer made it known that it wasn’t an easy task.

“He (Wagner) went in there and pitched with the lead,” Schattauer said. “He threw a lot of strikes.”

The first run of the game came in the top of the third inning from Southern Lee’s Cameron Richey. Richey was walked by Wagner to get on base, then advanced to second off a wild pitch. Jalan Jones singled on a ground ball to bring in Richey, before Jones was picked off a first to retire the side.

Bouwman earned the start on the bump for Southern Lee and allowed the first run from the Scots in the bottom of the third. On the first pitch of the at bat, Garrett Manning singled on a ground ball and advanced to second, after Cadyn Graves was grounded out to first.

But, after Alex Hatcher reached first base on a dropped third strike off a wild pitch, Manning was able to advance to third, then to home, after an error from catcher Ashton Donathan, tying the game at 1-1.

Wagner notched a single on the next at bat, which advanced Hatcher to third. After Garrett Sellers came in as a courtesy runner for Wagner, he was caught off base and was stuck between first and second. While Sellers was trapped, Hatcher took off to score, allowing Sellers to try and advance to second. A throw to home plate wasn’t in time, giving Hatcher his first run of the night; but, a throw back to the shortstop Harrington would go too far, allowing Sellers to go from second to home plate, putting the Scots ahead 3-1.

The Scots scored their final run of the game in the bottom of the fourth with Dawson Williams. After being walked and advancing to second off a ground out from Luke Taylor, Williams scored, thanks to a single from Eli McCoy that turned into him reaching second on the throw to first.

The Scots had four hits as a team and McCoy recorded the lone RBI.

Wagner pitched five innings and allowed one run on four hits, while striking out four and walking six, earning the win.

Tucker relieved Wagner and pitched two innings, allowing one run on one hit and recording one strikeout.

Bouwman took the loss for the Cavaliers, allowing four runs on four hits, striking out 10, walking three, and recording two errors in six innings pitched.

The win for the Scots keeps them, and Schattauer, undefeated six games into the season.

Schattauer, who’s in his first-year as a head coach, said he couldn’t imagine a better start to his coaching career.

“I knew that we had the guys and the team that could do it,” he said. “But, I did not imagine it going like this. Hopefully we just keep on riding the wave.”

The Scots head to Sanford Friday night for a rematch against Southern Lee at 7 p.m.

Reach Brandon Hodge at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @BrandonHSports.