The Muhlenberg baseball team scored a run in the bottom of the ninth to defeat Eastern, 5-4, and earn a split of a doubleheader in Newark, New Jersey.

The nightcap was a thrilling game that featured three tying or go-ahead home runs in the last two innings.

The Mules (3-2) took a 3-2 lead into the top of the eighth, only to have the Eagles (2-3) tie the score on a round-tripper. Senior Brendan Bussiere hit his career second home run leading off the bottom of the eighth to put Muhlenberg back on top, 4-3, but Eastern's leadoff hitter in the ninth went yard to tie the game back up.

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, sophomore Marc Quarrie drew a walk. He came around to score the winning run on a long double by senior Brendan Hughes, who also pitched five strong innings as the starting pitcher in Game 2. It was the second career walkoff hit for Hughes, whose first came against TCNJ in 2023.

Graduate student Jack Kent gave the Mules an early lead in the nightcap by leading off the bottom of the first with a home run. It was only the second leadoff home run for Muhlenberg since 2017, and Kent (pictured above) hit the other one, against Swarthmore in 2023. Kent nearly hit a second home run in the fourth inning, driving in a run with a long double.

Bussiere reached base in all four plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with a walk.

Late home runs also figured prominently in the opener, but they were only by the Eagles, who hit two in the top of the seventh as part of a five-run inning that turned a 6-5 deficit into a 10-6 win.

Quarrie hit his second home run of the season for the Mules, a three-run shot in the third. Senior Aidan Legner went 3-for-3 and drove in the run that gave Muhlenberg a 6-5 lead with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly.