Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan dropped both of their games in the double header against the Braves of UNC Pembroke. They fell in game one 11-1 and then dropped game two in a 6-3 final.
The Warriors picked up four hits in the first game of the afternoon. Matthew McCaffrey was the lone Warrior to walk and Cole Kirschner was hit by a pitch. Logan Brazell started on the mound and pitched two innings while striking out two batters. Matthew White, Benjamin Applebee and Kamden Mongan all came in to pitch in relief. White led the team with three strikeouts in the game. Mongan struck out two batters and Applebee struck out one.
Southern Wesleyan had nine hits in the final game of the series. Ethan Shimmel and Perry Dyer each had two hits in the game. Shimmel hit a home run. The Warriors walked five times and Luke Taylor was hit by a pitch. Gavin Chandler started the final game of the series on the mound and pitched six innings while striking out one batter. Ash Faulk, Nick Gonsalves and Lukas Arvantides all came in to pitch in relief. Faulk picked up the other strikeout of the game.
Game Vitals
Game One Final: UNC Pembroke 11, Southern Wesleyan 1
Game Two Final: UNC Pembroke 6, Southern Wesleyan 3
Records: Southern Wesleyan (5-13 / CC 2-7) UNC Pembroke (31-2 / CC 7-2)
How It Happened
Game One
The Braves were first on the board in the first game of the afternoon as back-to-back singles by Lucas and Young allowed two runs to come in and score.
Southern Wesleyan challenged in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Perry Dyer hit a single through the left side. Dyer advanced to second as Matthew McCaffrey singled to the shortstop. With two on and one out, Ryan Postnieks knocked the ball right past the extended arm of the third baseman for a single. Dyer came in to score on the play to allow the Warriors to cut the Braves lead in half.
UNC Pembroke regained their two run lead in the top of the third inning as Brockman hit a single to allow Davis to cross home plate.
The Braves struck again in the fourth inning as Stephens sent the ball over the left field fence for a solo home run. In the top of the fifth inning, a three run home run off the bat of Jernigan allowed UNC Pembroke to extend their lead.
UNC Pembroke plated four more runs in the top of the sixth to win the first game of the afternoon in an 11-1 final.
Game Two
Southern Wesleyan was first on the board in the second game of the afternoon. An error by the third baseman allowed Perry Dyer to reach first and then advance to second base. As Matthew McCaffrey ground out to the pitcher, Dyer advanced to third. With two outs, Tristan Tillman hit a single to third base to bring Dyer in to score the first run of the game.
UNC Pembroke looked to tie the game up in the top of the fourth inning as Lucas got on base off a single. Young attempted to get on base as he put the ball into play. However, Seth Pettett dove to collect the ball and threw it straight to Ethan Shimmel to get Young out.
The Braves tied the game up in the bottom of the seventh inning as Stephens hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring Donathan in to score.
The Warriors fought back as with two outs, Ethan Shimmel came up to the plate and drilled the ball over the left center field fence to give Southern Wesleyan back the lead.
In the top of the ninth inning, UNC Pembroke took the lead off a series of hits including a three run home run by Lucas.
Southern Wesleyan fought back in the bottom of the inning. Cole Kirschner led off with a single and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Ethan Shimmel ground out to allow Kirschner to advance to third. Samuel Simonds came in to pinch hit and hit a single into right field to allow Kirschner to cross home plate. However, the Warriors fell to the Braves in a 6-3 final score.
What's Next
The Warriors will hit the road to Mars Hill, NC to take on the Mars Hill Lions on March 3. Southern Wesleyan will travel to Due West, SC on March 6-7 to take on the Erskine Flying Fleet. They will welcome the Newberry Wolves to Central, SC on March 10 in a double header beginning at 2pm.
