On the same weekend that the 168-year-old institution closed its doors, Birmingham-Southern College's baseball team rode a rollercoaster of emotions, suffering a heartbreaking 11-10 loss to Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The Panthers, who captured the nation's hearts with their spectacular run to the Division III College World Series, lost their CWS opener on Friday to Salve Regina, a college of 3,000 students in Newport, Rhode Island, setting up an elimination game Saturday against Randolph-Macon, a liberal arts college in Ashland, Virginia.

BSC jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but seven runs by Randolph Macon hurt the Panthers. Hits by outfielders Jacob Zito and Grant Morgan tied the game in the eighth inning. Junior Jackson Webster comes to bat in the bottom of the ninth.

“Jackson, do your job!” Webster's father, who is the play-by-play announcer for Panthers home games, yelled from the stands as the first baseman approached the plate.

Jackson Webster's father said, “Jackson, do your job!” And he did! He hit a two-run walk-off home run, Follow Still alive! Finals: Birmingham-Southern 9, Randolph-Macon 7. #d3baseball pic.twitter.com/0McnlJ0WCu

— D3Baseball (@d3baseball) June 2, 2024

And he did a great job: Down to his final strike, Webster smashed a two-run walk-off home run over the left field fence to seal a 9-7 victory for BSC and send the Panthers dugout into ecstasy.

RELATED: Birmingham Southern baseball team raises more than $100,000 in pledges

Jackson Webster. A walk-off hit in the World Series. America's team lives on. pic.twitter.com/N2nTdvEH94

— BSC Athletics (@BSCsports) June 2, 2024

“America's Team lives on,” the BSC athletic department posted.

“Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Can you believe it?” the play-by-play announcer yelled, as the camera panned to a throng of rabid Birmingham-Southern fans. BSC players poured out of the dugout and surrounded Webster as he crossed home plate, sealing the team's place in the national quarterfinals.

Birmingham-Southern University hits a walk-off home run to stay alive in the Division III College World Series 😲

On Friday, the school was officially closed. What a story! Follow) pic.twitter.com/YVZDQxkQoA

— Sports Center (@SportsCenter) June 2, 2024

BSC won't have much time to bask in the glory. Wisconsin-Whitewater, the No. 5 seed in the World Series, will face the Panthers in a matinee game on Sunday. The stakes are as high as they'll get, with the winner moving on to the next game and the loser heading home.

UWW took an early lead with three runs in the second inning, but the Panthers, used to coming from behind, fought back and quickly tied the game with two home runs from Webster, including his third of the weekend.

WEBBY has done it again!

We are all bound!! pic.twitter.com/DwsW7cukb3

— BSC Athletics (@BSCsports) June 2, 2024

The rest of the game was a back-and-forth affair, with Birmingham-Southern leading 5-3 after the fourth inning. A UWW home run tied the score in the home frame, but Webster quickly recorded two more RBIs to put the Panthers up 10-5 heading into the seventh inning.

Wisconsin-Whitewater wasn't going to go down quietly, and they tied the game going into the final inning with a one-run double and a two-run home run. In the bottom of the ninth, Wisconsin-Whitewater's Sam Padden hit the first pitch he saw over the left field fence to give the Warhawks an 11-10 victory.

After the game, BSC players and alumni stood along the third base line to pay tribute to the supporters who had made the long journey from Birmingham to Cleveland. Joe Goodman of AL.com, who accompanied the Panthers, reported that “a wonderful and intrepid band of Birmingham Southern fans” had made the 11-hour drive to northeast Ohio.

The teams left the field holding hands for the final time around 8:00 pm ET.

Birmingham-Southern High School players and baseball alumni join hands for a final time as they leave the field before the school closes on May 31. Their championship run came to an end on Day 3 of the DIII World Series on Sunday, June 2, 2024 at 7:48 p.m. in Eastlake, Ohio. pic.twitter.com/6annf4Yu2B

— 𝐈𝐫𝐚 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐫 🎙 (@irapthor) June 3, 2024

“What a beautiful place [Birmingham-Southern] “It was …” Panthers head coach Jan Weisberg, who has led the program since 2006, told The Associated Press, breaking down in tears.

“What the country saw these last three weeks and the joy we brought is really what this program is all about — toughness, championship baseball and great young men,” Weisberg added. “The final chapter of Birmingham-Southern High School could have faded into the sunset and few outside of our alumni and the Birmingham community would have known about it.”

“But now the public knows something pretty special happened here.”

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart baseball ❤️ pic.twitter.com/HC3puCuiu4

— BSC Athletics (@BSCsports) June 3, 2024

Charles Vaughn is a contributing writer for Yellow Hammer News.