Related: No. 16 Baseball Holds On, Tops Columbus State In Opener

PEMBROKE – Visiting Columbus State matched a season high with 17 hits and scored 12 times behind a solid outing from right-hander Brandon Koehler to even up its weekend series with the No. 16 UNC Pembroke baseball team on a 12-2 win over the Braves on Saturday at Sammy Cox Field.
 
Roberto Rivera singled, tripled and scored once to lead the Braves (13-4, 1-1 PBC) who hit just 3-for-19 with runners on base and stranded 10 on the base paths. Seven other players registered base hits for the hosts as well.
 
Mason McLellan drove in three runs and crossed the plate twice on a 4-for-5 day for the Cougars (8-7, 4-1), while Gunar Drinnen tallied a 3-for-5 hitting line for the visitors as well. Three other Cougars registered a pair of hits.
 
Matt Fuhr (3-1) yielded five earned runs on seven hits and a pair of walks in just 2-1/3 innings from the hill to take the loss for the Black & Gold. Koehler (2-1) scattered eight hits and allowed just a pair of earned runs in eight innings of work to pick up the win for Columbus State.
 
The Cougars tacked up lone runs in the first two frames, but UNCP cut into a 2-0 deficit on a RBI groundout by Nick Salisbury in the bottom of the second that got the hosts on the board. The Cougars tacked up three more runs in the third, and then broke the game wide open with five more in the sixth. Luke Jackson's RBI single in the bottom of the eighth capped the scoring for both teams.
 
UNCP will close out its weekend series with Columbus State on Sunday at Sammy Cox Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.