Related: Baseball Rallies Late To Clinch Series With Georgia Southwestern

PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke baseball team rallied for multiple runs three different innings behind an effective outing from right-hander Logan Cook to help the Braves finish off a weekend sweep of Georgia Southwestern with a 9-6 win over the Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon at Sammy Cox Field.

It was the fourth series sweep of the season for UNCP (18-8, 7-5 PBC) who has now won five-straight at home. Georgia Southwestern (15-13, 2-13) has now lost five of its last seven outings, as well as five-straight PBC road contests.

Drew Beaver and Nolan Pierce each scored a pair of runs on 3-for-4 outings for the Braves, who also got a 2-for-3, 3-RBI effort from Nick Salisbury. Christian Snider homered and drove in a pair of runs on a 1-for-4 day at the plate as well.

Evan Alderman singled three times on five trips to the plate for the visitors who posted 10 hits on the day, but none went for extra bases. Dakota Long (2-for-5) and Brett Burgess (2-for-4) both turned in multi-hit lines for the visitors.

Cook struck out seven and scattered seven hits and a pair of earned runs over six innings of work to register his 20th career victory for the Black & Gold. Hank Simpson struck out one and allowed three hits over three scoreless innings of relief to grab his first collegiate save. Layne Gusler (1-4) took the loss for the Hurricanes after allowing seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and a quartet of walks in just 4-1/3 innings of work. He also struck out four.

Brandon Weaver walked to begin the third and later scored on a RBI single by Alderman to give the visitors the lead, but UNCP tacked up a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame and led 8-1 after five innings thanks to 3-run innings in both the fourth and fifth frames.

Georgia Southwestern loaded the bases with its first three at-bats in the sixth, and lit up the scoreboard again on a infield single by Burgess. Cook got his feet back beneath him and struck out each of the next two Hurricanes, but a passed ball and an ill-timed error opened the door for four more runs and the Hurricanes trailed by just two scores, 8-6, heading to the sixth.

Simpson would shrug off the pressure, however, and kept the visitor bats at bat for the remainder of the contest. Aided by a caught stealing and a clutch double play, the UNCP rookie faced the minimum in each of the seventh and eighth innings, and then induced Zach Barron to hit into a game-ending double play after allowing his third hit in the ninth.

UNCP will be back in action again on Tuesday and Wednesday when it hosts a rare midweek series with Chowan (8-15) at Sammy Cox Field. The Braves and Hawks will open up the two-game set with a 6 p.m. contest on Tuesday, and will meet again on Wednesday at 3 p.m.