DUE WEST, S.C. – The Erskine College Baseball team had a tremendous run in the 2024 Conference Carolinas Tournament, winning its most postseason games in over a decade. But the path to the Fleet's postseason success did not come without immense challenges.
 
Erskine Head Coach Mark Crocco headed into the 2024 campaign in year seven of his tenure but saw a near complete overhaul of his staff coming into the season. The Fleet hired new pitching coach, Jacob Corn, in the summer of 2023, and then just weeks before opening day, Ben Johnston was brought in as the new Recruiting Coordinator and Jimmy Prince was promoted to Associate Head Coach.
 
"The 2024 season was one the most rewarding coaching experiences I have ever had a chance to be a part of in my career," Crocco said. "Our coaching staff was the recipient of one the most resilient, hardworking and dedicated group of players that I have ever had."
 
The Fleet were forced to a navigate through another challenging non-conference schedule that included Lander, Wingate, and Lincoln Memorial with a mostly brand-new staff and headed into conference play just a game over .500.
 
One of the premier baseball conferences in all of Division II, Conference Carolinas provided no let-up as Erskine opened league play at conference-newcomer, No. 13 Young Harris. However, after the opening weekend, Erskine won eight of its next 11 conference games and appeared to be heading in the right direction.
 
A massive four-game homestand followed against regionally ranked opponents in UNC Pembroke and Lander, but the Fleet struggled and suffered a setback. The following weekend, Erskine went on the road and swept Francis Marion, but lost reigning Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, Dale Francis, Jr., to a season-ending ankle injury.
 
However, the Fleet continued to show their resilience and rattled off five consecutive wins, including a huge sweep of Barton, capped by a walk-off single from David Hernandez, who went on to win Conference Carolinas Player of the Week.
 
Again, Erskine appeared to be peaking at the right time, but finished conference play by being swept by No. 3 North Greenville, which dropped the Fleet into the play-in round of the upcoming Conference Carolinas Tournament.

The Fleet used a 13-5 win over Wingate a few days later to provide some momentum heading into the postseason, and they conquered some demons in a tournament that had given them fits in recent years.
 
An offensive explosion in the later innings of the play-in round on Wednesday gave the Fleet a 12-2 win over Francis Marion. The following day, Erskine knocked off top-seeded North Greenville, 9-2, with a complete team performance. After a bump in the road to eventual tournament champions, UNC Pembroke, on Friday, Erskine was forced to turnaround and take on No. 2 seed Young Harris in an elimination game. Clutch hits from the Hernandez twins and a five-run ninth inning carried the Fleet past the Mountain Lions. A heartbreaking loss to No. 3 seed Mount Olive followed on Sunday, but the eighth-seeded Flying Fleet were one of the final four teams standing in the most competitive conference tournament in the country.
 
"You go as far as your team's belief and leadership is something I believe shows up down the stretch in college baseball," Crocco said. "This postseason was truly a testament to the character of these young men."
 
Offensively, Erskine took a bit of a step back from a historic season in 2023, but newcomers Josean Sánchez (.390, 21 XBH, 56 runs) and Jorge Pascual (.327, 13 HR, 47 RBI) proved to be tremendous additions. The emergence of David Hernandez (.381, 5 HR, 25 RBI) as an every-day catcher was invaluable as he worked himself into a key middle-of-the-lineup hitter. Senior leaders Christian Rivera (.310, 10 HR, 50 RBI) and Tyler Smith (.329 avg, .436 OBP, 12-14 SB) provided consistency for the Fleet.
 
"Christian Rivera's leadership as Team Captain and the group of Seniors impacted our program for many years to come," Crocco said.

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