DUE WEST, S.C. – The Erskine College baseball team (9-7, 2-4 CC) split a doubleheader against the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (8-5, 5-1 CC) at Grier Field on Saturday afternoon. An Armando Becerra walk-off home run gave the Fleet a 10-9 win in Game 1, while the Braves won Game 2 by a score of 15-11.

THE ESSENTIALS 
Conf. Carolinas Standings | Stats | Scores
Div. II Scores | Record Book | CC Digital Network
 
THE SERIES
The Braves hold a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Erskine 10-9 UNC Pembroke

UNC Pembroke opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the first inning to jump out to an early lead. But, the Fleet got on the board with two runs of their own in the second inning on an Ashby Smith RBI single before Tariq Bacon scored Smith moments later with an RBI triple to tie the game. UNCP regained the lead in the top of the third but the Erskine bats continued to produce in the bottom half of the inning. Christian Rivera beat out an infield single to score Armando Becerra before Gregory Sanders gave Erskine its first lead with a sacrifice fly to make it a 4-3 game after three innings. The Braves went back in front in the top of the fourth on a two-run home run, but the lead was short-lived again. Rivera singled home two runs to put Erskine back on top and this time the Fleet added some insurance. Smith and Kyle Marti both had run-scoring hits in the frame as Erskine opened up an 8-5 lead. UNC Pembroke battled back with four runs of their own and held a 9-8 lead after five innings. Joe Alegre worked a scoreless top of the sixth inning out of the Erskine bullpen and a Smith opposite-field single in the bottom half tied the game at 9. Johnny Hummel took over for Alegre and issued a leadoff walk but got two big strikeouts to strand the go-ahead run in scoring position and send the game to the bottom of the seventh still tied. Just two pitches into the inning, Becerra launched a towering home run to straightaway right field as the Fleet walked it off for a 10-9 victory in Game 1.

Game 2: UNC Pembroke 15-11 Erskine
Josh Collett put up a pair of zeroes in his first two innings of work and the Erskine offense had its best inning of the season in the bottom of the second of the final game of the series. Ashby Smith led off the frame with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch before Tariq Bacon singled him home to open the scoring. A pair of walks loaded the base with still no outs and Dalton Boyd ripped a two-run double to make it 3-0 Erskine. Armando Becerra stayed hot and followed with a two RBI double of his own. Cal Bocchino added another run on an RBI groundout before a two-strike solo home run from Christian Rivera chased the UNC Pembroke starter with the Fleet leading 7-0 and stil at-bat in the second inning. Smith and Bacon set the table again with a single and a double before scoring on a two-run base hit from Cal Kryska. Kane Fisher put a bow on the monster inning with a massive two-run big fly to left center field as Erskine struck for 11 runs in the second inning. But, a resilient UNC Pembroke team battled back with a nine-spot in the third inning and regained the lead by scoring four more runs in the fourth. The Braves added two more runs in the seventh in a game that was called after just seven innings due to darkness with UNC Pembroke coming out on top, 15-11.

THE PLAYER
Armando Becerra was 7-for-10 at the plate between the two games, including a walk-off home run that capped a four-hit game in the first game of the doubleheader.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine is back in action at home for a mid-week bout with Coker University (5-10, 3-0 SAC) on Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at Grier Field. The Cobras have won four straight and seven of the last eight games between the teams.
 
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