DUE WEST, S.C. – The Erskine College baseball team (6-5, 2-1 CC) defeated Georgia College (5-6) by a score of 6-3 in a mid-week contest at Grier Field on Tuesday afternoon.

Blake Holshouser gave the Fleet a solid start, tossing four scoreless innings and five Erskine relievers helped close out a victory after the offense broke through in the middle innings, with multi-RBI games from Jorge Pascual and Quinn Allen.

THE ESSENTIALS 
Conf. Carolinas Standings | Stats | Scores
Div. II Scores | Record Book | CC Digital Network
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the Fleet's first home mid-week contest of the season, Erskine starting pitcher Blake Holshouser quickly got into a pitcher's duel with Georgia College's starter. Holshouser threw four scoreless innings before giving way to the bullpen with the game still waiting on its first run. Freshman Jake Short took over on the mound and worked a pair of scoreless frames himself, and eventually the Fleet offense came alive. In the bottom of the fifth, Josh Hungler worked a one-out walk and then advanced to second on a wild pitch, before Quinn Allen roped a single into left center field, scoring Hungler to get Erskine on the board and with a 1-0 lead. After a double play helped Short escape some trouble in the top of the sixth, the Fleet went back to work at the plate. JT Yaccarino and Pierce Radke each drew walks to open the frame, and after an Elliot Sanders sacrifice bunt moved up both runners, Jorge Pascual delivered a two-strike single into center field that scored a pair and extended Erskine's lead to 3-0. Wilder Puertas followed with a base hit of his own, and Pascual eventually scored on a passed ball to make it 4-0. Georgia College broke through in the seventh with a pair of runs, but Gene Blackmon came on to limit the damage and preserve the Fleet's lead. Drew Hopkinson breezed through a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the eighth, and then the Fleet offense regained its cushion in the bottom half, thanks to sacrifice flies from Hungler and Allen, giving Erskine a 6-2 advantage heading into the ninth. Dustin Scogins came on to close the door and worked around an error to begin the inning, as he recorded the final three outs on a quality home win for the Fleet over a Georgia College team that played in a Super Regional last year.

THE PLAYER
Sophomore right-hander Blake Holshouser made his second start of the season on Tuesday, and although he did not factor into the decision, Holshouser set the tone with four impressive innings on the mound. The Vero Beach native allowed just two hits and two walks, while recording three strikeouts across his four scoreless frames.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine welcomes in one of the top teams in Conference Carolinas this weekend, when Young Harris College (8-3, 3-0 CC) makes the trip to Due West for a three-game series that begins Friday at 2 p.m. at Grier Field. The Mountain Lions finished second in the conference last year in their first season in the league.

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