DUE WEST, S.C. – The Erskine College baseball team (29-19, 14-13 CC) split a doubleheader against Emmanuel College (25-23, 13-15 CC) to conclude the regular season at Grier Field on Saturday afternoon. Erskine won Game 1 by a score of 7-4, but lost a narrow 3-2 game in the back half of the doubleheader.

THE ESSENTIALS 
Conf. Carolinas Standings | Stats | Scores
Div. II Scores | Record Book | CC Digital Network
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Erskine 7-4 Emmanuel
Emmanuel scored a two-out run in the top of the first inning to take an early lead, but it didn't take long for the Fleet to get control of the game. Armando Becerra led off the bottom half of the first with a double down the right field line and then Tariq Bacon unloaded on the first pitch he saw and cranked his 10th home run of the season to put Erskine in front, 2-1. Jaisen Randolph, one of the many Erskine seniors honored before the game, added an RBI single later in the frame as Erskine led 3-1 after one hectic inning. The game settled into more of a rhythm after that, but the Lions put up a three-spot in the top of the fourth to regain the lead, 4-3. But, Bacon led off the Erskine half of the fifth with a double and Christian Rivera followed that with a two-base hit of his own to put runners on second and third for Dale Francis, Jr. And Francis, Jr. delivered, lining a base hit back up the middle into center field and firing the Fleet back in front, 5-4. Ashby Smith followed with another double and came around to score on a safety squeeze bunt from Dontae Wade as the Fleet led 6-4 heading into the sixth inning. Kevin Heinrich came on for the Fleet to pitch the top of the sixth and kept the Lions off the board, before another Francis, Jr. RBI single gave the Fleet a three-run lead. Heinrich ran into some trouble on the mound in the seventh, but Parker Cassell came on and got a huge strikeout to strand the bases loaded. Cassell breezed through the eighth, and Johnny Hummel slammed the door shut in the ninth, recording his seventh save of the year and sealing a 7-4 Erskine win in Game 1.

Game 2: Emmanuel 3-2 Erskine
After starting pitcher, Daemon Woodruff, set down Emmanuel in order in his first inning of work, the Fleet offense picked up right where it left off. Tariq Bacon drew a one-out walk, stole second, and scored on yet another run-scoring single from Francis, Jr. to give the Fleet an early 1-0 lead. But, the Lions struck next, hitting a three-run home run in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead. The Fleet were able to cut the deficit in half thanks to a Bacon RBI double and threatened in their last few at-bats but could not scratch across the tying run as Erskine was defeated in Game 2, 3-2.

THE PLAYER
Dale Francis, Jr. was a combined 4-for-9 at the plate with 4 RBIs at the heart of the Erskine lineup.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine turns its attention to the 2023 Conference Carolinas Tournament, held at CaroMont Health Park in Gastonia, N.C. next week. The Fleet will be the No. 7 seed and will begin their tournament in the play-in round against the No. 6 seed Francis Marion University (25-23, 16-13 CC) on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Patriots took two out of three from Erskine in their regular season series in Due West back in early March this year.

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