BLYTHEWOOD — Once again, late heroics kept the Blythewood baseball team afloat Tuesday night against Lugoff-Elgin.

With the game tied at three going into the bottom of the eighth, Johnny Collins lifted a 2-1 pitch over the fence in left-center field for a walk-off home run in the Bengals’ 4-3 home victory.

“We got one hit when we really needed it, and that’s the way this game goes, timely hitting,” Bengals head coach Travis Poole said, adding that the Bengals need to work on not digging holes in the first place.

“I think it’s more of mental preparation of coming out and getting up on people early and not getting down. The thing I will say about this group is that they don’t stop when they’re down.”

The win over the Demons marked the third time in the last four games that the Bengals (8-2, 2-0 Region V-5A) had to dig out of a hole.

A week ago, Blythewood fell behind Spring Valley 7-3 before roaring back to a 19-7 win in 6 innings. The Bengals had no trouble with the Vikings two days later in an 11-1, 6-inning rout.

On Friday, Blythewood hosted A.C. Flora and fell behind 3-1 before scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh to notch another victory.

Tuesday night’s game followed the familiar pattern.

Lugoff-Elgin (5-7, 0-3) took a 1-0 lead on Logan Crain’s one-out RBI single in the third inning.

Blythewood took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Brandon Bolton led off that inning with a double, and Collins drove in Bolton’s courtesy runner, Kwan Tambrella, on an RBI single to left.

With the game tied 1-1, Andrew Blackwell reached on an error, and after Chance Johnson struck out, Caleb Blackwell’s ground smash to left field scored both Andrew Blackwell and Collins.  

Navy Strickland also singled, but Sergio Melendez lined out and Cooper Penfield popped out to end the inning.

The Bengals’ lead didn’t last long. With two outs in the top of the fifth, Crain delivered for the Demons again with a 2-run double.

With the score knotted at three after scoreless sixth and seventh, the game went into extra innings.

Pitcher Bowman Rummel, who relieved Collins to start the fourth inning, retired the Demons in order in the top of the frame.

Collins, who started the game on the mound and stayed in the game at first base, led off the bottom of the eighth. He swung at the first strike, took the second strike, fouled off a pitch, and took a ball before swatting the game-winning walk-off blast that fell well beyond the fence, between the scoreboard and the batter’s eye.

Collins’ shot was reminiscent of Blythewood’s 4-3 win at home over A.C. Flora (6-3) Friday.

In that final inning Bolton led off with a single. Flora pitcher Charlie Scott then hit Collins. Andrew Blackwell sacrifice bunted Bolton’s courtesy runner, Tambrella, and Collins to third and second base.

With one out Johnson grounded a single to left field to score Tambrella to make it 3-2. Scott then hit Caleb Blackwell to load the bases with Collins at third and Johnson at second with one out.

Strickland then delivered a line-drive base hit to right, scoring both Blackwell and Collins for the win.

“They keep battling,” Poole said of the team. “And they pull for each other. This group really does. It don’t matter who’s up, everybody’s pulling for everyone, and sometimes that’s a good thing.”

Blythewood heads to Lugoff-Elgin Thursday, then hosts Hartsville Saturday.

SPRING VALLEY – 0-0-1-0-0 – 1-2-3
BLYTHEWOOD – 0-6-2-3-X – 11-11-0
WP: A Blackwell, 4.0 IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 4K
B – Sergio Melendez, 2-4, HR, 3 RBI. Navy Strickland 2-2, 2 RBI. Brandon Bolton 2-3, 2B. Cooper Penfield 2-4.

AC FLORA – 0-0-0-0-1-1-1 – 1-2-3
BLYTHEWOOD – 0-0-1-0-0-0-3 – 4-7-1
WP: C Blackwell, 3.0 IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 2K
A – Roper Wentzky 2-4. Monty Laffitte 2B.
B – Navy Strickland 2-3, 2 RBI

LUGOFF-ELGIN – 0-0-1-0-2-0-0-0 – 3-4-2
Blythewood – 0-0-0-3-0-0-0-1 – 4-9-1
WP: B Rummel 5.0 IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 5K
L – Logan Crain 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI. Kollin Bright 2B.
B – Johnny Collins 2-4, HR. Sergio Melendez 2-3. Navy Strickland 2-3. Brandon Bolton 2B.