DUE WEST, S.C. – The Barton baseball team (32-10, 15-10) suffered a 4-2 setback Friday afternoon to Erskine (22-20, 13-11) in a Conference Carolinas weekend series opener at Grier Field.
The Flying Fleet's David Hernandez (Miami, Fla.) broke a two-all tie with the game-winning solo home run to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning while Josean Sanchez (Kissimmee, Fla.) added two hits and a pair of runs batted in as Erskine snapped Barton's four-game winning streak.
Barton senior pitcher
Tanner Halvorson (Eau Claire, Wisc.) drove in a run in the top of the first inning while graduate student first baseman
Mason Staz (Olin, N.C.), the reigning league and region player of the week, added an RBI in the seventh inning despite the loss.
Halvorson (8-3) was also tagged with the setback while Erskine's Alex Heintz (Bradenton, Fla.) improved to 7-3 on the year after limiting the Bulldogs to just two runs over seven innings of work to go along with six strikeouts. The Flying Fleet's Jared Guell (Miami, Fla.) pitched two scoreless innings for his third save of the year.
Barton and Erskine wrap up the league weekend series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at Noon.
