DUE WEST, S.C. – The Erskine College baseball team (10-13, 3-5 CC) won both games of a doubleheader to conclude a three-game series against Southern Wesleyan University (5-17, 3-9 CC) at Grier Field on Friday. Erskine pulled away down the stretch of Game 1 for a 12-2 win, before taking the series finale in an 18-11 shootout.

THE ESSENTIALS 
Conf. Carolinas Standings | Stats | Scores
Div. II Scores | Record Book | CC Digital Network
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Erskine 12-2 Southern Wesleyan (Final / 7 innings)
After a heartbreaking loss in the series opener yesterday, Erskine returned home to wrap up their weekend tilt with Southern Wesleyan. SWU scored in the top of the first on a balk, but the Erskine came ready to go for an early 10 a.m. start, as Dale Francis, Jr. cranked a two-run, opposite-field home run in his first at-bat to flip an early deficit on its head and give the Fleet a 2-1 lead after an inning. Erskine starting pitcher, Alex Heintz, settled after a shaky opening frame and watched his offense double the lead thanks to a sacrifice fly from David Hernandez in the second inning. Heintz continued to stifle the Warriors and preserved a 3-1 lead until Erskine blew the game open in the fifth. Jorge Pascual and Francis, Jr. went back-to-back in the frame to extend Erskine's lead to 6-1. SWU plated a run in the top of the sixth, but the Fleet had gotten rolling offensively and continued to pile on the runs. Josean Sanchez tripled home a run in the bottom half of the sixth, before jogging home moments later thanks to Pascual's second blast of the game. A few batters later, Daniel Hernandez came off the bench and provided the finishing touches with a pinch-hit, three-run home run to open up a double-digit lead for Erskine. Ira Clifton relieved Heintz on the mound in the sixth inning and recorded the final four outs to seal a 12-2 Fleet victory.

Game 2: Erskine 18-11 Southern Wesleyan
The Fleet offensively picked up right where the left off to begin the rubber match of the series, scoring six times in the first inning to jump out to an early commanding lead with five different Erskine players tallying an RBI in the opening frame. Christian Rivera and Daniel Hernandez each drove in another run in the second, handing starting pitcher Jared Guell a nice, early 8-1 lead. SWU fought back, scoring three times in the top of the fourth, but Guell induced and started a huge double play to limit the damage and Erskine never looked back. After a walk and a single to open the bottom half of the fourth, Ben Maskin cranked a three-run home run to give the Fleet their cushion again. Erskine started another rally later in the frame, and four straight Fleet hitters drove in a run as Erskine had opened up a 15-4 advantage after four innings. Hernandez and Tyler Smith each had RBIs in the fifth, and Logan Piedra added a run-scoring base hit off the bench to cap the scoring for the Fleet. SWU made a push late, but the Fleet's lead proved far too sizeable to overcome, and Caleb Dix shut the door with a pair of strikeouts in the ninth to seal a doubleheader sweep and a conference series win for Erskine.

THE PLAYER
In Game 1, Erskine designated hitter, Jorge Pascual, was a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate with a pair of two-run home runs. Pascual reached base in all four of his plate appearances in the opener and totaled three runs scored to go with his four RBIs. The junior followed that up with an RBI double and three more runs scored in Game 2, as he was at the center of a dominant showing from the Fleet lineup on Friday. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine has a week off before going on the road to start a weekend series at Belmont Abbey College (11-9, 8-4 CC) on Friday at 5 p.m. The Fleet had a unique, historic series win against the Crusaders last year, winning the series opener at Grier Field by a score of 7-6 on a Friday, and then were forced to finish the series with a doubleheader in Belmont the following Monday. There, Tyler Smith's walk-off single at Abbey Yard sealed a 15-14 extra-inning victory in the rubber match.

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