Related: Offense Bountiful As Baseball Flies Past Chowan
PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke baseball team countered a season-high five errors with its 18th double-digit hit attack of the season and the Braves became the fourth Peach Belt Conference team to reach the 20-win mark this season with an 11-5 win over Chowan on Wednesday at Sammy Cox Field.
The triumph extended the win streak for UNCP (20-8) out to six games, while also handing the Braves their 14th-straight win in the series with Chowan. The Hawks (10-17) fell to 3-10 away from Murfreesboro this season with the setback.
Three players registered multi-hit showings for the Black & Gold, including Hayden Buffkin who doubled and homered on a 2-for-4 day at the plate. Nolan Pierce homered and drove in three runs on a 2-for-4 hitting line, while Nick Salisbury walked and scored to highlight a 2-for-3 outing. Nick Debo and Alex Minton hit home runs for UNCP as well.
Connor Arcobasso singled and doubled on a 2-for-4 performance to pace the Hawks, while Josh Martin (3-for-4) singled three times on four trips to the plate.
Justin Pegram (1-1) picked up his first collegiate victory in a pre-determined pitching rotation after striking out a pair of batters and allowing just five hits and two unearned runs in four innings from the hill. Kyle Ramsey, Alex Britt and Daniel Batts worked a scoreless inning of relief for the hosts as well. Will Edwards (0-3) was victimized for seven earned runs on eight hits over 5-2/3 innings for the Hawks.
UNCP trailed 1-0 after the top of the first inning, but rebounded and eventually took a 6-2 lead on Debo's two-run homer with one out in the fifth. Chowan strung together three hits and took advantage of a costly error to cut into its deficit with three scores in the top of the sixth, but the hosts answered the call with a lone run in the bottom of the frame, as well as a four-run seventh inning.
The Braves will open up a four-game road trip this weekend when they head to northwest Georgia to take on PBC rival Young Harris (9-17, 4-11 PBC) in a three-game set at Zell B. Miller Field. The squads will open up the weekend series with a 6 p.m. contest on Friday.
