ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Reinaldo Santiago hit a pinch-hit two-run double in the top of the ninth inning to lead the Benedict Tigers to a 9-7 victory over Claflin University in the first game of a SIAC baseball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.

Claflin scored on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning in the second game to take a 6-5 victory.

Benedict moves to 22-12 overall and 11-6 in the SIAC. Claflin is now 13-29 overall and 7-10 in the SIAC.

The Tigers scored five runs in the second inning of the first game for a 5-2 lead. David White Jr. led off the inning with a double, then Myles Snype, Darian Williams and Joel Manzano all had RBI singles.  Yancy Freeny added a two-out RBI single, then Andrew McCoy doubled home Freeny for a 5-2 lead.

After Claflin cut the lead to 5-4, Benedict added a run in the top of the fourth when Dantrell Lucas hit a double to drive home Manzano. Claflin added a single run in the bottom of the fifth, then took a 7-6 lead with two runs in the sixth. Benedict tied the contest in the seventh with a solo homer by McCoy. The game remained tied at 7 until the top of the ninth when Armando Valentin and Robert Troiano III singled. Santiago hit a two-out double for the game-winning runs.

In the second game, The Tigers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning, with Santiago driving in another run. Valentin had a sacrifice fly in the second inning for a 3-0 lead.

Claflin scored one run in the bottom of the second and two more in the third to tie the game at 3. The Panthers pulled ahead with one run in the fifth and got a solo homer in the fifth for a 5-3 lead.

The Tigers tied the game in the top of the seventh. With two runners on, Troiano hit into a fielder's choice to score Valentin. With two outs and the bases loaded, Michael Garner was hit by a pitch to bring in the tying run.

The Panthers got a walk, an error and a stolen base in the bottom of the seventh, then a sacrifice fly scored the game-winning run.

Benedict and Claflin are scheduled to play the third game of the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.