DUE WEST, S.C. – The Erskine College developmental baseball team won a pair of games in the first round of the 2023 Conference Carolinas Developmental Championship at Grier Field on Monday afternoon. The Fleet jumped out to an early lead against Emmanuel and never looked back for a 9-4 win in Game 1, and then Erskine rallied from behind late to down King, 7-6, in Game 2.

THE ESSENTIALS 
Conf. Carolinas Standings | Stats | Scores
Div. II Scores | Record Book | CC Digital Network
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Erskine 9-4 Emmanuel
After an easy 1-2-3 top of the first inning from Erskine starter Gordon Soffel, the Fleet offense came roaring out of the gates. Zion Clonts led off the inning with a walk, and Chaz Knight followed with a base knock to set the table for the heart of the order. A delayed double steal allowed Clonts to score the game's first run, and then Brandon Abdala drove in a pair with a single through the hole on the left side, giving the Fleet a 3-0 lead. Logan Palma followed with a run-scoring hit and then used his speed to score the sixth run of the inning. A productive out from Ryan Turner drove in Julio Illidge as Erskine led 7-0 after just one inning. Both starters settled into a rhythm after that, with Erskine leading 7-1 after four innings. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, the Fleet tacked on two more runs thanks to another two-RBI single from Abdala. Emmanuel scored a couple of runs in the sixth, but Jaron Cortese came out of the bullpen for the Fleet and retired all six batters he faced to finish off a 9-4 win in Game 1.

Game 2: Erskine 7-6 King
After Erskine and King each defeated Emmanuel in their first game of the day, that set up a winner-take-all third game of the afternoon between the Fleet and the Tornado with a spot in the championship game on the line. And once again, the Fleet wasted no time getting out to an early lead. Davis Cardew led off the game with a base hit, and promptly stole second base. Then, Sulli Pinson slapped a single through the left side to score Cardew and open the scoring. But, King responded and took control of the game in the middle innings, scoring in each of their first three at-bats and opening up a 6-1 lead. Tornado pitching at one point retired twelve straight hitters, before a Logan Palma pinch-hit single in the top of the sixth broke that streak and ended up sparking an Erskine comeback. Banks Starbuck and Jurden D'Arnault each came of the Fleet bench as well and worked walks to load the bases with just one out for Zion Clonts. And Clonts delivered, beating out an infield single to score the second run of the game for Erskine. A few batters later, Nick Moya and Davis Cardew each came through with huge two-out, run-scoring singles as the Fleet clawed their way back to just a one-run deficit, 6-5, heading into the seventh. The first two Erskine hitters of the inning were retired, but the Fleet had saved some more two-out magic for their final at-bat. Starbuck reached on an infield single, which gave D'Arnault a chance to hit. The Fleet third basemen was down to his final strike, but lined a ball down the left field line all the way into the corner, allowing Starbuck to scamper around the bases and score the game-tying run. With D'Arnault at second base, Clonts added some magic of his own, delivering with a go-ahead single into left field, as the Fleet rallied their way back from a five-run deficit to take the lead. Vito Dorio, who took over on the mound for the Fleet back in the third inning, went back out for the bottom of the seventh, trying to finish off a remarkable comeback win. Dorio set down the first two hitters, but issued a two-out single to bring the winning run to the plate. However, Dorio bared down and tallied his sixth strikeout of the game, as the Fleet took down King, 7-6, to advance to next week's championship game.

THE PLAYER
The two games were true team efforts for the Fleet, but Zion Clonts had the biggest hit of the day. The senior from Powder Springs, Georgia, came through in the clutch with a game-winning single in the seventh inning against King to finish off a comeback win for the Fleet.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine advances to the Finals of the 2023 Conference Carolinas Developmental Championship on Monday, April 17 to take on Chowan University. The championship game will be hosted by Francis Marion University.
 
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