Spring Creek opened its season with a thrilling 9-8 win against East Duplin on Tuesday.

The Gators held a 5-1 lead through three innings only to watch East Duplin come back to tie the game 5-5 in the top of the fifth inning. The Gators scored one run in the bottom of the fourth and two runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull ahead 8-5.

However, East Duplin scored three runs in the seventh to tie things up at 8-8.

The Gators were unable to score any runs in the bottom of the seventh, and the game headed into extra innings.

After keeping East Duplin off the board, the Gators scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth.

Spring Creek (1-0 overall) next travels to East Duplin (0-1) on Thursday.