AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta State battled back from a 4-1 deficit with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, but visiting and 18th-ranked UNCP plated a run on a clutch throwing error with one out in the ninth to finish off a weekend sweep of the Jaguars with a 5-4 win on Saturday afternoon.

The victory put the lid on the regular season schedule for UNCP (36-14, 19-11 PBC) who finished with a program-best winning percentage (.633) in league play. The setback marked the 20th-straight loss for Augusta State (10-37, 3-24) who has now dropped eight-straight outings with the Black & Gold as well.

Max Gagnon doubled and drove in a pair of runs on a 2-for-4 outing for the Braves, who also got two-hit performances from both Drew Cole (2-for-4, SAC) and Ben Schmucker. Justin Appel walked and doubled to highlight a 2-for-3 plate performance for the Jaguars.

Logan Cook (5-1) grabbed his second win of the week as the freshman struck out three and yielded two hits in 1-2/3 innings of relief. Dylan Wall (0-5) went the distance for the hosts, but took the tough-luck loss after allowing five runs (two earned) on nine hits and a trio of walks. He also struck out three.

Augusta State's eighth-inning rally overshadowed an otherwise dominant performance by UNCP right-hander Dale Innes who was not awarded a decision despite striking out 11 and scattering seven hits over 7-1/3 innings from the hill. Innes (103) is now just the third pitcher in program history to record 100 or more strikeouts in a single season and the first since UNCP Hall of Famer and Major League Baseball draftee Ron Norman registered 155 as senior in 1974.

The Braves used a hit and a pair of costly fielding errors to push across a pair of runs in the third and led by as much as 4-1 after Gagnon's RBI single in the sixth. However, the Jaguars rallied to knot the score back up in the bottom of the frame, pulling to within one on Justin Mee's two-run double and then evening things back up when Ross Miles legged out an infield single to score Mee.

The Braves would have the last laugh, however, as Daniel Fraga singled to lead off the ninth, moved into scoring position on Cole's sacrifice bunt and later scored on first baseman Seth Foster's second error of the contest. Cook would register three strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth to secure the win.

The Braves will now take a 10-day hiatus from competition before trekking to Greenwood, S.C., for the Lander-hosted Peach Belt Conference Tournament. Pairings and times for the postseason gala will be announced on May 5.