DUE WEST, S.C. – The Erskine College baseball team (8-4, 1-2 CC) upset the No. 1 team in the country, Wingate University (11-1) with a 6-2 win at Grier Field on Tuesday afternoon, handing the top-ranked Bulldogs their first loss of the 2022 season.

THE ESSENTIALS 
Conf. Carolinas Standings | Stats | Scores
Div. II Scores | Record Book | CC Digital Network
 
THE SERIES
Erskine leads the all-time series 14-8 and ended a five-game unbeaten run from Wingate in the series.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Connor Harrison got the start for the Fleet and battled his way through three scoreless innings, as he stranded six Wingate baserunners through his three innings of work. In the bottom of the third inning, Kane Fisher led off with a first-pitch, ringing double down the left field line. Gregory Sanders moved Fisher to third base on a sacrifice bunt before a sacrifice fly from Cal Bocchino scored Fisher to give Erskine a 1-0 lead. Wingate answered right back with a run of its own in the top of the fourth inning to tie the game. But, the Fleet had a carbon copy of the previous inning to retake the lead. This time Armando Becerra laced a leadoff double into the left center field gap before Cal Krsyka dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance Becerra to third. Kyle Marti followed and fought off a couple tough two-strike pitches before lifting a sacrifice fly to center field to score Becerra and make it a 2-1 game. Again, Wingate answered with a run in the top of the fifth, but Zach Overholt came in out of the Erskine bullpen and retired two consecutive batters to keep the game tied at 2. After Overholt set down the Bulldogs in order in the sixth, Erskine broke the game open in the bottom half. Cal Bocchino drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored moments later on a Christian Rivera single back up the middle as Erskine took the lead for good. Later in the inning, with two outs and runners on second and third base, Ashby Smith poked a ball over the outstretched arms of the Wingate pitcher before it deflected off the second base bag into shallow center field for a clutch two-run single to extend the Fleet's lead to 5-2. Erskine added another run in the seventh inning as Rivera delivered with another run-scoring single after Ira Clifton retired the side in order in the top of the seventh. Johnny Hummel came on for the Fleet in the eighth and surrendered a base hit and a walk but slammed the door shut by recording the final six outs as Erskine took down the reigning Division II National Champions, 6-2.

THE PLAYER
Christian Rivera continued his hot stretch at the plate with two more RBI singles to lead the Erskine offense. Zach Overholt, Ira Clifton, and Johnny Hummel recorded the final 14 outs for the Fleet, allowing just one hit and one walk over four and two-thirds scoreless innings to secure the victory.

"Connor Harrison gave us a great start and the bullpen did what they have been called to do and that is compete for their brothers in the dugout. Johnny Hummel has proven over and over he is an elite closer and he proved that again today," Head Coach Mark Crocco said about his pitching staff's performance.

THE HEAD COACH
"Our team came together and executed team baseball at a very high level. They embraced selfless at bats, sold out for two strikes and fought extremely hard for each other. The pitching staff was extremely efficient and understood the opportunity they had today," Coach Crocco said following the win. "I could not be more honored to be a part of this baseball family that is being built in our locker room. This was a tremendous team win for our program."

"Jeff Gregory and his staff at Wingate University are a first class program and I am honored to be an alum and a part of a special coaching tree at Wingate. They are the National Champions for a reason and have proven that doing things the right way still wins on a national level," he added.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine goes on the road on Wednesday afternoon for a rematch with Queens University of Charlotte (5-6) at 2:00 p.m. The Royals beat Erskine 19-6 at Grier Field on the Fleet's home opener back on February 9.
 
MORE ABOUT THE ERSKINE COLLEGE FLYING FLEET

    Visit the Official Home of Erskine Athletics at www.erskinesports.com
  
    Follow us on Social Media – Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Photos