DUE WEST, S.C. – The Erskine College baseball team (21-20, 12-11 CC) defeated Augusta University (22-20, 11-10 PBC) by a score of 11-7 at Grier Field on Tuesday, as the Fleet began a stretch of 9 of their final 10 games of the regular season at home with a non-conference victory over the Jaguars.

THE ESSENTIALS 
Conf. Carolinas Standings | Stats | Scores
Div. II Scores | Record Book | CC Digital Network
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Augusta struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, and after the first two hitters of the game for the Fleet were retired, it looked as if Erskine would go quietly in its first at-bat. But, Christian Rivera rolled a single through the left side and, a few pitches later, Jorge Pascual smoked a two-run home run over the right center field fence to tie the game. Ben Maskin followed by drawing a walk, and David Hernandez unloaded on a first-pitch fastball, launching a two-run blast of his own and firing the Fleet in front. Tyler Smith kept the line moving with a double, before Juan Jaime muscled a base hit into left center, scoring Smith and capping a five-run, two-out rally for Erskine and giving them a 5-2 advantage after one phrenetic inning. Both bullpens settled the game down in the next few frames, with Caleb Dix posting scoreless second and third innings on the mound for the Fleet. However, Augusta battled back, starting with a solo home run in the fourth, before a bases loaded walk in the sixth got the Jaguars within a run. Ira Clifton came on out of the bullpen and recorded a pair of huge strikeouts to strand the bases loaded and preserve Erskine's lead. In the bottom half, Jude Littrell lined an opposite-field single with two outs that scored Jaime to regain the Fleet's two-run advantage, now 6-4. Clifton used an inning-ending double play ball to post a zero in the top of the seventh, but the Jaguars got within a run once again in the eighth on another bases-loaded walk. However, Cooper Guest responded with a strikeout and a groundout as Augusta left the bases loaded once again. Erskine capitalized on that momentum in the bottom of the eighth, as Jaime led off the inning with a ringing double in the left center field gap, before coming around to score on a Daniel Hernandez base knock. Littrell followed with another single, before Pascual came through again, hitting his second home run of the day, this one a three-run shot down the left field line to open up a 10-5 lead. Maskin followed with a double and came around to score on a David Hernandez RBI single as Erskine posted a five-spot in its half of the eighth to break the game wide open. Noah Palmese came on for the Fleet to record the final three outs and put the finishing touches on an 11-7 victory for the Fleet to begin the home stand.

THE PLAYER
Jorge Pascual went 3-for-5 in the middle of the Erskine order with two home runs and five RBIs. The junior first baseman got the Fleet on the board with a two-run blast in the first, and then his three-run big fly in the eighth all but sealed the Erskine win. This is the second time Pascual has had a multi-home run game this season; he also achieved the feat back on March 8 against Southern Wesleyan.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine turns its attention to a big weekend series against the team with the joint-second best overall record in Conference Carolinas, Barton College (32-9, 15-9 CC), starting Friday at 2 p.m. at Grier Field.

MORE ABOUT THE ERSKINE COLLEGE FLYING FLEET

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