DUE WEST, S.C. — UNC Pembroke pounded out 17 hits, and used a solid start from HL Smith and an excellent relief outing from Luke Barrow on the way to a 10-2 victory over Erskine in Game 1 of the series Friday afternoon at Grier Field.

Smith allowed just four hits and one run in his four inning stint, while Barrow (3-0) went the final five, allowing just a run to go along with eight punchouts and no walks, earning the win.

Joey Rezek finished a triple shy of a cycle on his way to pacing the Braves offense, with three hits, three runs and two RBIs. Michael Dolberry II and Will Hood also had three hits apiece, with Dolberry recording a home run and three RBIs and Hood driving in one run.

The Braves (23-9, 8-8 CC) improved to 8-4 all-time against the Flying Fleet (16-15, 8-7 CC). The 17 hits were the most for the Black & Gold since recording 19 in the March 5 win over Glenville State.

UNCP’s Ashton Donathan reached on a one-out single in the third inning, moved to second on a ground out, and came around to score on Chase Hudson’s two-out RBI single. Rezek followed with his 11th homer of the season to give the Braves a 4-0 lead.

In the eighth, Andrew Jenner got aboard for the Braves with a single, while Dolberry connected for a two-run blast to push the lead to 7-2.

Rezek and Hood each singled in the ninth, with Rezek coming around to score on an Erskine error. Spencer Faulkner kept the inning alive with a two-out single, and Jenner and Dolberry each added insurance runs on RBI singles to make it 10-2.

Josean Sanchez had three hits with a double and a run for Erskine and Ben Maskin had two hits with a double and two RBIs. Blake Holshouser (1-2) took the loss.

The two squads will wrap up the series Saturday with a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 11 a.m.