PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke baseball team pounded out 11 hits and scored six times behind another solid night from right-hander Anthony Burke, and the Braves won for the eighth time in their last 10 outings with a 6-1 triumph over Francis Marion on Friday evening at Sammy Cox Field.
 
The Braves (24-11, 8-8 PBC) got multi-hit nights from three different players, including junior Roberto Rivera (2-for-3) who drove in a pair of runs on his school-record and league-leading seventh triple of the campaign. Ethan Baucom doubled in a run to highlight a 2-for-3 night at the plate as well, while Drew Beaver (2-for-4) singled twice in four trips to the dish.
 
Zach Callahan drove in a run on a 3-for-4 hitting line to pace Francis Marion (26-12, 8-8).
 
Burke (6-1) struck out four and scattered six hits across seven highly effective innings from the mound to grab a win for the second time in his last three starts, while Hank Simpson finished out the outing by retiring all six batters he faced, including four via strikeout. Chance DuCharme (3-3) surrendered five runs (four earned) on eight hits and a quartet of walks to saddle the loss for the visitors. He also struck out five.
 
UNCP struck for a pair of third-inning runs to scratch the scoreboard first, but the Patriots answered back in the fifth, utilizing an ill-timed error and a two-out RBI single from Callahan to cut their deficit in half. The Braves would put the game away in the sixth, however, on a RBI single from Stibel Aleman Saba and Rivera's two-run triple with two outs showing.
 
The Braves and Patriots will continue their weekend series on Saturday afternoon at Sammy Cox Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. The contest will be preceded by Ray Pennington Day ceremonies earlier in the afternoon in which the team will honor its former coach and athletics director.