DUE WEST, S.C. – The Erskine College baseball team (4-9, 3-1 CC) was defeated by No. 3 North Greenville University (11-1, 3-1 CC) by a score of 19-14 at Grier Field on Friday to begin a three-game series.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
A huge weekend series for the Fleet against the third-ranked team in the country did not start well as the visitors came out on a heater at the plate. The Trailblazers scored four runs in the first and six more runs in the second, as part of taking a 14-0 lead after three and a half innings. However, the Fleet slowly began working their way back into the contest with
Adrian Rolon and
Andrew Tabares each driving in runs in the fourth inning. The Fleet answered back again in the fifth, with
Pierce Radke delivering an RBI single, and then
Blake Hall came off the bench and lined a two-run double down the line, before a Rolon sacrifice fly made it 17-6 after five innings. NGU scored two more runs in the top of the sixth, but the Erskine offense kept chipping away.
Carson Yates' RBI single got the scoring started in the frame and then
Luke Garabedian followed with a two-run double of his own. Hall capped another four-run inning for the Fleet with an RBI single as he continued on his big day off the bench.
Issei Yanagisawa and
Brandon Fears tossed scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, respectively, and
Samuel Casado launched a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth, the freshman's first collegiate home run to get Erskine suddenly within five.
Eric Enerlich navigated through a bases-loaded jam unscathed in the top of the ninth to give the Fleet one final chance, but Erskine's valiant comeback efforts fell short in the first game of the weekend.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine and No. 3 North Greenville conclude the series with a doubleheader on Friday, starting at 11 a.m.
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