CHARLESTON, S.C. - Alabama State took advantage of two errors in the ninth to score a pair of tie-breaking runs and then held on in the bottom of the inning for a 15-14 victory over The Citadel to even the three-game series at Riley Park.

The Bulldogs (5-5) and Hornets (4-5) will meet in the deciding game of the series Sunday at noon.

The back-and-forth contest was tied at 13 heading into the ninth when the Bulldogs committed the final two of their six errors to allow the Hornets to push across two runs while only getting one base hit.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Connor Walsh doubled to right center for his fifth hit and third RBI of the game, plating Austin Mapes to pull The Citadel within one. The rally fell short, however, when Armando Ruiz came in to retire Philip Watcher on a liner to left.

The last out was recorded four hours and 14 minutes after the first pitch, making it the longest nine-inning game in Bulldog history, eclipsing the previous mark of 3:53 set against Western Carolina on March 29, 2013.

The five hits for Walsh marked the first time a Bulldog accomplished that feat since Calvin Orth did so against Davidson on May 3, 2013. The Citadel finished with 18 hits in the contest, with Johnathan Stokes adding three and Jason Smith contributing two hits and three RBI.

Kevin Connell was tagged with the loss despite allowing only one infield single in 1.2 innings of relief. Michael Estevez came on in the seventh and worked two innings, allowing one hit and striking out four to pick up the win. The save for Ruiz was his second of the year.

Neither team had much in the way of pitching early with a combined 23 runs scoring over the first 4 ½ innings. The Bulldogs scored four in the second including a two-run single by Stokes and added six in the third to take a 10-6 lead, a frame highlighted by a William Kinney base hit that brought home two and a Smith triple that also chased across a pair of runs.

Alabama State continued to put the pressure on, scoring six times over the fourth and fifth innings to take a 12-11 lead, but the Bulldogs went in front in the seventh on consecutive RBI doubles by Stephen Windham and Walsh. The Hornets tied it in the eighth before scoring their decisive runs the following inning.