PEMBROKE – The 27^th-ranked UNC Pembroke baseball scored eight times in the bottom of the first inning to take control early and never took its foot off of the gas pedal on the way to a series-opening 13-1 win over visiting Coker on Saturday afternoon at Sammy Cox Field.
 
Roberto Rivera (2-for-3), Stibel Aleman Saba (1-for-1) and Drew Beaver (1-for-2) all hit home runs to lead the Braves (32-11), while Luke Jackson drove in three runs on a 2-for-4 day at the plate. Jarratt Mobley and Ethan Baucom turned in 2-for-3 outings as well.
 
Bryson Conner (2-for-3) tallied a pair of hits to pace the Cobras (22-19).
 
Anthony Burke (8-1) struck out six and yielded just six hits and a lone earned run over his first complete game outing (7 innings) of the season to notch his eighth victory of the campaign. Matt Ticer (1-2) registered just two outs in the first inning and saddled the loss after surrendering six earned runs on four hits and a pair of walks.
 
Coker scratched the scoreboard first thanks to Conner's RBI triple in the top of the first, but the Braves sent 14 batters to the plate in the home half of the inning and scored eight times to put the game out of hand early. Rivera registered his first career home run on a solo shot with one gone in the third, and the Black & Gold provided the final on back-to-back jacks from Aleman Saba and Beaver in the sixth.