Related: No. 16 Baseball Rallies Back To Clinch Series With North Georgia

PEMBROKE – Visiting North Georgia posted three runs in both the eighth and ninth innings to rally back from a pair of deficits and upset the 16th-ranked UNC Pembroke baseball team with an 8-6 victory over the Braves in the series finale on Monday afternoon at Sammy Cox Field.

The setback snapped a three-game winning streak for UNCP (25-9, 13-8 PBC) who clinched the weekend set with 15-1 and 4-3 wins over the Nighthawks on Sunday. It was just the third win in the last 12 outings for North Georgia (14-17, 4-11).

Zade Denton and Ben Schmucker both turned in 3-hit outings for the Braves who, despite the loss, managed to register 10 or more hits in a contest for the 28th time this season. Three different players recorded two hits apiece for the Nighthawks, including Travis Naraine who singled twice and scored three times to highlight a 2-for-4 day at the plate.

Zach Andrews (1-3) was tagged with his second blown save of the campaign and took the loss for the hosts after allowing six runs (five earned) in 1-1/3 innings of relief. Starter Andy Sullivan was not awarded a decision despite yielding just three hits and striking out a season-best five batters over a season-long seven innings from the mound.

Christian Turnipseed (1-1), who carried a Peach Belt Conference-best nine saves into the weekend, grabbed his second win of the season after striking out three in two hitless innings of relief for the Nighthawks.

UNCP carried a 5-2 lead into the eighth inning, but North Georgia loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the frame, and then knotted the score back up on a costly fielding error by the Black & Gold. The Braves took the lead again in the bottom of the eighth on Brett Huffman's RBI groundout, but the Nighthawks got three consecutive one-out RBI knocks in the ninth to put the game away for good.

The Braves will continue a nine-game home stand on Wednesday when they suit up to battle region rival Catawba (20-12) in a 6 p.m. contest at Sammy Cox Field.