TIGERVILLE, S.C. — Cory Bivins hit a 3-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the second inning to give top-ranked North Greenville all of the offense it would need as the Crusaders captured their season opener with the 13th-ranked UNC Pembroke baseball team via a 7-1 win over the Braves on Friday afternoon.
The setback snapped a four-game win streak for the Braves (23-6, 10-3 CC) who also fell to 0-4 all-time against NGU in Tigerville. It was the 13th-straight victory for the Crusaders (27-2, 15-1) who improved to 15-0 at Dillard Field this season.
NGU’s Jalen Vasquez drew a leadoff walk in the second inning, and Zach Zarra climbed aboard via a one-out walk, to set the table for a go-ahead at-bat minutes later. UNCP’s Evan McLean kept his wits about him and retired the next batter via a swinging strikeout, and then worked back from a 3-and-0 count to Cory Bivins, but Bivins crushed a full-count offering over the fence in right field.
Kody O’Connor and Will Hood each had two hits for UNCP; O’Connor had a double and an RBI. Michael Kocen also had a hit and an RBI. McLean (3-1) took the loss.
Bivins had two hits with the homer and three RBIs, Pat Monteith had two hits and a run and Vasquez had a hit and an RBI for North Greenville. Noah Takac (2-0) pitched five scoreless innings with three strikeouts to earn the win.
The Braves will close out their weekend series with North Greenville with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch of the twinbill is scheduled for noon.
Hot bats help Erskine top UNCP softball twice
The UNC Pembroke softball team left 11 runners on base and committed three errors while Erskine’s bats were hot and capitalized on timely hitting to secure a twinbill sweep over the Braves on Friday at the Erskine Softball Field. A pair of home runs in the sixth inning of the opening contests helped the Flying Fleet to a 4-1 victory, and capped off the doubleheader with scoring in four different innings on the way to a 14-6 win in five innings.
The setback for the Braves (10-19, 3-3 CC) fall to 1-9 when playing on the road and snapped a three-game winning streak against Erskine. The Flying Fleet (15-6, 5-1 CC) have now won their last five contests and improve to 8-2 when playing at home.
In the third inning of game one, Marijo Wilkes got the inning started with a leadoff double to left field. UNCP loaded the bases after a hit by pitch and a walk. Samantha Allred’s patient at bat drew a walk to score Wilkes.
Maddie Ingram lit up the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer to start the inning. Gabby Burroughs sent one out of the park for another solo blast to give the Flying Fleet a 4-1 lead.
Wilkes had two hits with a double to lead UNCP in the opener. Madison Dyson (4-10) pitched 5 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts, but took the loss.
Burroughs had three hits, with two home runs and three RBIs, for the Flying Fleet. Kaley Ingle (14-2) earned the win in both games of the doubleheader; in the opener, she pitched seven innings with 10 strikeouts.
In the nightcap, Erskine put runners on first and second in the second inning after an ill-timed fielding error and a hit by pitch. Both runners advanced 60 feet after a steal and would score on a double down the line from Hailey Watson. Watson stole third and scored on a wild pitch to put the hosts ahead 3-0.
In the top of the fourth, singles from Marijo Wilkes and Lauren Hilbourn put runners on first and second for UNCP. An RBI double from Kaci Roberson scored Wilkes. Conner Brisson sent one out of the park for a three-run blast to knot the score at 4-4.
In the bottom half, Hailey Watson doubled to the center field gap and scored on a single up the middle from Mary Elizabeth Ballard. The Flying Fleet had runners on first and second after an infield single from Amber Clark. Kyndall Chandler found a gap in the outfield for a two-run single, and a UNCP error allowed Clark to score to give Erskine an 8-4 lead.
Wilkes had two hits with a double and Kaci Roberson had two hits with a double and three RBIs for UNCP in the nightcap. Abby White (2-1) took the loss.
Peyton Rabun had two hits, with a homer and five RBIs, Hailey Watson had two doubles and two RBIs and Kyndall Chandler had a hit and two RBIs for Erskine.
The Braves will be back in action on Saturday for a conference doubleheader against Emmanuel (15-13, 4-2 CC). First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Emmanuel Softball Field in Franklin Springs, Ga.
Chepkesir 64th at Raleigh Relays
Joshua Chepkesir competed in the 10,000-meter run on Friday evening on the second day of the Raleigh Relays at the Paul Derr Track.
Chepkesir crossed the finish line in a time of 29:49.49 on the way to a 64th place finish in the event. The redshirt senior’s performance was just 24 seconds off of his personal-best time and one minute from breaking Garry Henry’s record of 28:47.00 set in 1982.
Delsin Burkhart will close out competition at the Raleigh Relays on Saturday in the 800-meter Run set to begin at 4:20 p.m.
Braves track gets good start at Adidas Trojan Relays
Ben Oxendine picked up a third place finish in the Javelin Throw, while Raigan Evans finished fifth in the Hammer Throw to highlight action for the UNC Pembroke track & field teams on the opening day of the Adidas Trojan Relays on Friday at the Ray McDonald Sr. Track & Field Complex.
Oxendine’s throw of 46.54-meters helped him to a third place in the Javelin Throw while he also finished in 18th-place of the Hammer Throw with a personal-best mark of 30.43-meters. Justin Walker finished inside the top-10 of Hammer Throw with a personal-best toss of 45.50-meters, while Bennie Oxendine also stayed inside the top-10 with a ninth-place finish after a toss of 43.11-meters.
On the women’s side, Evans established a new personal-best in Hammer Throw with a mark of 48.52-meters for a fifth-place finish. Evans also logged a top-10 finish in Javelin Throw with a toss of 31.48-meters. Lillian Marino placed eighth in Hammer Throw after a toss of 44.96-meters, while Alycia Artman placed 17th in Hammer Throw. Sara Ormsby’s 15.81-meters in the Javelin Throw established a new personal-best for a 26thplace finish.
The teams combined for seven personal-best marks on the opening day of competition. The Braves will be back in action on Saturday for the final day of the Adidas Trojan Relays at the Ray McDonald Sr. Track & Field Complex.
