CENTRAL, S.C. – The Erskine College baseball team (27-16, 12-11 CC) defeated Southern Wesleyan University (13-31, 7-18 CC) by a score of 18-7 at C. Keith Connor Field on Friday evening. Erskine fell behind in the first inning, but Ashby Smith's six RBIs led the Fleet back and extended their winning streak to five games.

THE ESSENTIALS 
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Southern Wesleyan put up three runs in the very first inning to take an early lead, but Erskine quickly got things going offensively themselves. Dale Francis, Jr. led off the top of the second with a double and scored a few pitches later on an Armando Becerra RBI single. A few batters later, a SWU error allowed Becerra and Ashby Smith to score and tie the game at 3. Logan Piedra followed with an RBI groundout to give Erskine its first lead and then Jude Littrell capped the five-run inning with a beautiful, run-scoring bunt single. Starting pitcher Joe Alegre settled in after shaky first inning and got the Fleet offense back into the dugout after striking out a pair in a scoreless bottom of the second inning. Christian Rivera led off the third with a walk, and then Francis, Jr. singled to set up another Fleet threat. Smith doubled home both of them, and doubled the Erskine lead, 7-3. Moments later, Becerra ripped an RBI double and came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Boyd. Juan Jaime capped Erskine's second consecutive five-run inning with an RBI triple as the Fleet opened up a commanding 10-3 lead. Tariq Bacon and Smith had run-scoring hits in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively, as the Fleet held a 12-7 lead heading into the seventh. And Erskine sprinted through the finish line in the latter innings, fueled by a two-run home run from Smith in the seventh, a David Hernandez RBI in the eighth, and a pinch-hit RBI double from Cal Kryska in the ninth, helping the Fleet take a convincing 18-7 lead. Parker Cassell and Chase Hadwin were fantastic out of the Erskine bullpen in the final three frames to finish off the win.

THE PLAYER
Ashby Smith led the Fleet's offensive onslaught with a perfect 4-for-4 performance at the plate with two doubles, a home run, and six RBIs. Smith now has a conference-leading 55 RBIs this season.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine and Southern Wesleyan conclude their weekend series with a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m.

MORE ABOUT THE ERSKINE COLLEGE FLYING FLEET

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