DUE WEST, S.C. – The Erskine College baseball team (9-8, 3-3 CC) won both games of a doubleheader against Georgian Court University (0-2) to begin a three-game series this weekend at Grier Field on Friday afternoon.

Game 1 starter, Joe Alegre, and Game 2 starter, Roman Edwards, each tossed five quality innings and got help from quality performances out of the bullpen as the Fleet stifled GCU in both games on the day. Jude Littrell's four RBIs led the Fleet offense in Game 1, and home runs from Jorge Pascual and Pierce Radke carried the load for the Erskine lineup in Game 2.

THE ESSENTIALS 
Conf. Carolinas Standings | Stats | Scores
Div. II Scores | Record Book | CC Digital Network
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Erskine 6-1 Georgian Court
Back at home in a weekend series out of conference, Erskine and Georgian Court were locked in a pitcher's duel early on, with Joe Alegre matching zeroes with the GCU starter through the first three innings. But, in the fourth, Jorge Pascual beat out an infield single to lead off the frame, moved to second on a walk, and then to third on a sacrifice bunt from Pierce Radke, before Quinn Allen's sacrifice fly brought Pascual home to open the scoring. GCU answered back with a run of its own in the top of the fifth, but Erskine instantly responded in the bottom half. After Elliot Sanders led off with an infield single, a sacrifice bunt and an error moved Sanders to third, before scoring on a sacrifice fly from Littrell to regain Erskine's lead. The Fleet added another run a few batters later on a wild pitch that scored Josean Sanchez. A bases-clearing double from Littrell in the eighth broke the game open and the duo of Alegre and Jared Guell on the mound kept the Georgian Court lineup quiet en route to a 6-1 win to begin the series.

Game 2: Erskine 6-2 Georgian Court
The back half of the doubleheader followed a similar trend early, this time with starter Roman Edwards matching zeroes with the GCU staff through the first three frames. And, again in the fourth, the Fleet found a breakthrough, this time with the long ball. Jorge Pascual's opposite-field three-run home run opened the scoring and was quickly followed by a big fly from Pierce Radke as the Fleet went back-to-back to take a 4-0 lead. The Lions cut the Erskine lead in half with a couple of runs in the top of the sixth, but the Fleet quickly regained its cushion with RBI singles from Radke and Josean Sanchez in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively. Edwards departed after five scoreless innings on the mound, and quality relief outings from Gene Blackmon and Dustin Scogins sent the game to the eighth inning with Erskine holding a 6-2 lead. Nick Groover came on to record the final six outs of the game for the Fleet, allowing just one hit and facing the minimum across his two innings of work to seal a win and a doubleheader sweep for the Fleet.

THE PLAYERS
Erskine's pitching staff stole the show on Friday, particularly the two starting pitchers. Game 1 starter, Joe Alegre, worked five innings and allowed just one run on six hits and totaled four strikeouts to earn his second win of the season. Roman Edwards followed in Game 2 by also earning his second win of the campaign with five excellent innings of his own on the mound. The junior right-hander gave up just three hits and recorded six strikeouts in his five scoreless innings. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine and Georgian Court wrap up their weekend series on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Grier Field.

MORE ABOUT THE ERSKINE COLLEGE FLYING FLEET

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