DUE WEST, S.C. – The Erskine College baseball team (13-10, 5-6 CC) won both games of a doubleheader to open a weekend series against Barton College (12-9, 7-4 CC) at Grier Field on Friday afternoon. Erskine took Game 1 by a score of 4-2 and the Fleet scored three times in the eighth inning to win Game 2, 6-3.

THE ESSENTIALS 
Conf. Carolinas Standings | Stats | Scores
Div. II Scores | Record Book | CC Digital Network
 
THE SERIES
Erskine leads the all-time series 36-20.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Erskine 4-2 Barton
In what was an eventful top of the first inning for Erskine starter, Allan Saathoff, the big right-hander set down Barton quietly and the Fleet offense immediately jumped out to a lead. Armando Becerra, Cal Bocchino, and Christian each singled to lead off the game for the Fleet with Rivera's plating Becerra for the game's first run. A few batters later, Kyle Marti reached on an infield single to score another run as Erskine took a 2-0 lead after just one inning. Barton answered with two runs of their own in the second inning to tie the game, but Saathoff settled in and kept the Fleet level. Erskine's offense cooled off after a hot start, but the Fleet broke through again in the fourth inning. Marti led off the frame by being hit by a pitch before a Cal Kryska single put Erskine back in front thanks to an error from the Barton right fielder on the play. Then, Gregory Sanders executed a safety squeeze bunt to score Kryska as Erskine regained its two-run lead, 4-2. Saathoff set down the Bulldogs in order in the fifth before handing the ball off to Johnny Hummel, who was electrifying in the sixth as he struck out the side in order. Hummel came back out for the seventh inning, looking to complete a six-out save. Barton tallied back-to-back singles with one out and had the tying run in scoring position, but Hummel punched out a Bulldog for the final out to seal a 4-2 win.

Game 2: Erskine 6-3 Barton
After inducing a pair of groundouts to begin his outing, Joe Alegre loaded the bases in the top of the first inning, but the Erskine starter induced a weak ground ball to keep Barton off the board. Again, in Game 2, the Fleet broke through in their first inning at the plate thanks to a bunch of singles. The Fleet totaled four singles in the frame, the biggest hit coming from Cal Bocchino which scored Christian Rivera to give Alegre an early 1-0 lead. Barton tied the game in the top of the second, but Dalton Boyd launched a solo home run in the bottom half to put Erskine back in front, 2-1. The Bulldogs answered with a home run of their own in the third inning, a two-run blast to give the visitors their first lead of the day, 3-2. But, Gregory Sanders led off the fourth inning with a double to right field before he came around and scored on a single from Cal Kryska to tie the game at 3. Alegre's day was done after four innings, but Graham McCurry put up two flawless innings in relief while the Fleet offense was held in check. Deric Hanko was the next man out of the Fleet bullpen and was equally dominant, setting down all six batters he faced including three strikeouts. Then, in the bottom of the seventh inning, Erskine regained the lead for good. After Marti led off with a single and stole second base, Ashby Smith took a pitch the other way for his third hit of the game to score Marti and put Erskine ahead, 4-3. Bocchino followed with an RBI triple before scoring on another safety squeeze bunt from Sanders to make it a 6-3 game. Johnny Hummel came on for the save in the ninth inning and retired Barton in order on a pair of strikeouts and a nice sliding play by Bocchino in shallow center field for the final out to give the Fleet a 6-3 win as Erskine pitching retired 16 of the final 17 batters of the game. 

THE PLAYER
The Erskine bullpen totaled seven scoreless innings in the doubleheader, led by Johnny Hummel who tallied a pair of saves. Graham McCurry and Deric Hanko each had two perfect innings of relief in Game 2. The trio struck out 10 batters and issued just two hits and a walk over their seven innings of work.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine and Barton wrap up their three-game series with one more game Saturday afternoon, tentatively scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. first pitch but subject to change due to inclement weather. Follow Fleet Athletics on Facebook and Twitter and go to www.erskinesports.com to stay up-to-date on any schedule changes.
 
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