DUE WEST, S.C. – The Erskine College baseball team (24-20, 15-11 CC) swept a doubleheader to secure a series sweep over Barton College (32-12, 15-12 CC) at Grier Field on Saturday.

The Fleet scored six unanswered runs and held on for a 6-5 win in the opener, and David Hernandez's walk-off single in the 10th inning capped a 10-9 thrilling victory in the series finale.

THE ESSENTIALS 
Conf. Carolinas Standings | Stats | Scores
Div. II Scores | Record Book | CC Digital Network
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Erskine 6-5 Barton (Final / 7 innings)
Barton opened the scoring in the top of the second, but after a quiet opening inning, the Erskine bats came to life with the answer. David Hernandez led off with an infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Juan Jaime, and scored on a base hit from Jude Littrell to tie the game. Tyler Smith followed with a knock of his own, and a few pitches later, Carlos Gonzalez delivered an RBI single to give the Fleet their first lead. Josean Sanchez and Jorge Pascual each followed with run-scoring hits of their own as Erskine posted a four-spot in their half of the second to take a 4-1 lead. Starting pitcher Joe Alegre danced out of trouble in the next half-inning, and RBIs from Adrian Rolon and Gonzalez extended the Fleet's advantage to 6-1. Barton closed strong, posting three runs in the sixth and adding another in the seventh as part of a last-ditch rally effort, but Jared Guell induced a groundout to strand the tying run in scoring position and finish off a 6-5 win for the Fleet.

Game 2: Erskine 10-9 Barton (Final / 10 innings)
Having already secured a series win earlier, the Fleet again responded to early runs from the Bulldogs. Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the third, Carlos Gonzalez worked a leadoff walk, and Josean Sanchez followed with an opposite-field double to start the rally. After a David Hernandez walk loaded the bases, Juan Jaime stepped up and turned on a pitch, wrapping it around the left field foul pole for a grand slam, flipping a two-run deficit into a 4-2 Erskine lead. Jude Littrell started another rally with a double and scored moments later on an RBI single from Tyler Smith to cap a five-run frame for the Fleet. Erskine added two more in the next inning, thanks to RBIs from Christian Rivera and Hernandez to open up a 7-2 lead. Barton responded with a run in the sixth and four more in the seventh to tie the game. But, Erskine almost immediately regained its lead, as a Barton error allowed Hernandez to cross the plate in the bottom half of the seventh. After Barton tied the game again in the eighth, Christian Rivera delivered a clutch, two-out, two-strike double, scoring Sanchez to fire the Fleet back in front, 9-8, heading into the ninth. The Bulldogs again answered back, drawing level once again in the ninth to force extra innings. In the top of the tenth, Nick Hyde came on out of the bullpen and dominated a red-hot Bulldogs offense, posting a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless frame and giving the Fleet a chance to walk it off in the bottom half. Sanchez started the rally in the bottom of the 10th, muscling a one-out single back up the middle. A productive out from Evan Shoffit moved Sanchez into scoring position, and after Rivera was intentionally walked, Hernandez had a chance to be the hero. Facing a lefty on the mound, the senior catcher lined a fastball the other way, dropping it in just in front of the Barton left fielder as Sanchez scampered home to seal a series sweep for the Fleet.

THE PLAYER
After a 1-for-3 showing in the first game of the day, senior catcher David Hernandez went 3-for-4 at the plate in the series finale, capped by a walk-off single in the 10th inning to finish the weekend sweep. That was Hernandez's fourth three-hit game of the season, and his first walk-off as a member of the Flying Fleet.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine begins a busy mid-week, beginning with a home game against Toccoa Falls College (22-15) on Monday at 1 p.m.

MORE ABOUT THE ERSKINE COLLEGE FLYING FLEET

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