MARION, N.C. -The Salem University baseball team fell in the first game of the Independent Baseball Championship to Claflin 17-12, in a five-and-a-half-hour game, Thursday at Big League Camp.
 
The five-and-a-half-hour game had two 30 minutes lightening delays and is the longest game in Big League Camp history. 
 
Junior Sam Chapman is tabbed with his first loss of the season (8-1), as he allowed six hits and seven earned runs in 3.2 innings with one strikeout. 
 
Junior Tyler Ault led the way offensively batting 4-for-6 with six RBI and two runs scored, while sophomore Austin Whetzel was 2-for-5 with two solo home runs. 
 
In the top of the first inning, Claflin added a run off of a throwing error to take a 1-0 lead, while it hit a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 advantage. 
 
In the bottom of the first, Ault doubled off the left-center wall as senior Harrison Hollis scored to bring the score to 2-1, while a few batters later, junior Walker Dodero bounced a ball over the right field wall for a ground rule double as Ault trotted home to tie the game 2-2. 
 
Junior Noah Suarez hit a groundout RBI as junior Parker Lenivy crossed home for the Tiger's first lead of the game, 3-2 in the bottom of the second. 
 
In the top of the third, Claflin tied the game 3-3 off a sacrifice fly, while it added seven runs in the top of the fourth for a 10-3 advantage. 
 
Whetzel launched a solo home run to center field as the Tigers trailed 10-4 in the bottom of the fourth.
 
The Panthers tacked on three runs in the top of the fifth, while the Tigers added one run off of a hit from junior Dalton Robison that scored sophomore Tyler D'Alessandro as Salem trailed 13-5.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, Ault hit a two-run single to left field as Suarez and Hollis crossed home to cut the Panther lead to 16-7. Senior Jimmy Cramer hit an RBI single to right field to score Ault as the Tigers trailed 16-8.
 
Whetzel crushed his second home run of the day to center field in the bottom of the ninth, while with the bases loaded Ault doubled to left field to clear the bases and cut the Panther lead to 17-12. 
 
Due to the length of the game, the scheduled game against Winston-Salem State at 8:00 p.m. has been pushed to 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, followed by the contest against Bluefield State at 7:00 p.m.