DUE WEST, S.C. – The Barton baseball team (32-12, 15-12) fell to Erskine (24-20, 15-11), 6-5 and 10-9, twice on Saturday in a Conference Carolinas doubleheader at Grier Field.
Game One – Erskine 6, Barton 5
The Flying Fleet jumped out to a 6-1 lead after three innings of work and were able to hold on for the victory.
Erskine's Jorge Pascual (Athens, Ga.) finished with a pair of hits and an RBI while Joe Alegre (Riverside, Calif.) improved to 4-3 after earning the win. The Flying Fleet's Jared Guell (Miami, Fla.) registered the final three outs for his fourth save of the year.
For Barton, junior outfielder
Evan Harding (Clayton, N.C.) finished with a home run and a triple in addition to two RBI despite the loss. Barton senior
Connor Patterson (Randleman, N.C.) (5-2) was tagged with the setback.
Game Two – Erskine 10, Barton 9 (10 innings)
Erskine's David Hernandez (Miami, Fla.) ended the game with a walk-off, run-scoring single in the bottom of the tenth inning with two outs as the Flying Fleet completed the sweep.
The Flying Fleet's Juan Jaime (Santo Domingo, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC) hit a grand slam while Nick Hyde (Charleston, S.C.) (1-3) picked up his first win of the season.
Harding once again led the Bulldogs on offense with a pair of solo home runs and senior outfielder
Josh Hoffman (Belle Vernon, Pa.) added two RBI but Barton came up just short once again. Senior
Brett Anderson (Milford, N.H.) (2-1) suffered the setback for the visitors.
Barton remains on the road to take on Lenoir-Rhyne on Tuesday, April 23, at 5:00 p.m., in Hickory, N.C., while Erskine hosts Toccoa Falls on Monday at 1:00 p.m.
