MUSKEGON – It wasn’t looking good for the Muskegon Clippers late in the game on Friday night.

They were down to their final four outs with a runner on first base and two outs in the eighth inning, trailing 10-5.

But they kept battling and scored four runs in the eighth inning and another in the ninth to tie the game and send it to extra innings.

They finished off the impressive comeback in the 10th inning when August Hutchinson blasted a game-winning walk-off homer to give the Clippers a dramatic 11-10 victory over the Michigan Monarchs at Marsh Field.

Muskegon’s Paxton Miller delivers a pitch. Photo/Jeremy Clark

Muskegon has now won two straight games and is 5-5 on the season, good for a third-place tie in the Northern Division of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate Baseball League.

The Clippers will try to make it three in a row on Saturday in another game against the Monarchs. First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. at Marsh Field.

“I had a lot of confidence going into the at-bat with the crowd and my teammates behind me, and I felt the momentum,” Hutchison said. “I just got on top of the plate and decided if he gave me a fastball, I was going to do some damage with it.

“It is my first home run as a college player. It means a ton to win this game, because it gives us momentum that we need to carry over.”

The Clippers started the eighth inning rally with back-to-back walks by Cooper Mills and Lukas Bolton to load the bases.

The Clippers’ Trent Nielsen is greeted by teammates after hitting a homer. Photo/Jeremy Clark

Hutchison took one for the team by getting hit by a pitch and forcing in a run, cutting the deficit to 10-6.

Stoney Smith then forced in another run with a walk before Spencer Nelson doubled two runs in to cut the Clippers’ deficit to 10-9 heading into the ninth inning.

Logan Todd opened the ninth with a double, then advanced to third base on a groundout. Logan Hylek tied the game with an RBI single to force extra innings.

Clippers relief pitcher Lukas Brewer managed to hold the Monarchs to one hit in the top of the 10th inning, setting his team up for the win.

Hutchison led off the bottom of the inning and drilled a 3-1 fastball over the fence in deep left-center field.

Muskegon outfielder Colin Cornwell gets ready to make a catch. Photo/Jeremy Clark

“Our at-bats were good today, but we made some mistakes to compound a big deficit,” said Clippers manager Logan Fleener. “We put in some new guys late in the game to light some fire.

“We’ve asked the team to play really hard, no matter what the score says, and that was one of the most amazing games I have been through.”

The Clippers were led offensively by Nelson with three hits, including a double, and three RBIs, while Jacob Anderson and AJ Miranda each added two hits

Trent Nielson also homered in the contest and knocked in two runs for Muskegon.

Brewer got the victory for the Clippers with his one inning of relief. Starting pitcher Paxton Miller allowed six earned runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Mona Shores grad Connor Vallie pitched two scoreless innings in relief and still has not given up an earned run this season.