Box Score NEWBERRY, S.C. – The 26^th-ranked UNC Pembroke baseball team broke open an otherwise close game with five runs in the bottom of sixth inning, and the seventh-seeded Braves lived to see another day at the NCAA Southeast Regional with a 12-3 victory over sixth-seeded Columbus State on Friday evening at Newberry College's Smith Road Complex.
 
The triumph snapped a 3-game skid for the Braves (39-16) who move into another elimination contest on Saturday against the loser of Friday evening's tilt between second-seeded Newberry and third-seeded Belmont Abbey. Friday's setback snapped a four-game series win streak for the Cougars (36-17) who had not dropped a game to the Black & Gold since May 1, 2021 in Pembroke.
 
Friday's result also pushed the Braves to 39 victories on the campaign – the third-most wins in school history, and the most triumphs for the club since a 41-win campaign in 2017.
 
Southpaw Chase Jernigan (3-1) struck out one Cougar and allowed just one hit in 2-2/3 scoreless innings of work to grab his third victory of the season for the Black & Gold. Newcomer Spencer Ledford struck out three and surrendered just in his first start in the Black & Gold, but was not awarded a decision.
 

GAME SUMMARY
FINAL SCORE	Newberry 12, UNC Pembroke 3
PITCHERS	WP: Chase Jernigan (3-1) LP: Noah Windhorst (7-3) Save: None
RECORDS	UNC Pembroke 39-16; Columbus State 36-17

KEY INNINGS
TOP 5	Isaac Bouton drew a 7-pitch walk to lead off the fifth and eventually moved all the way around the diamond before scoring on a wild pitch to draw CSU to within a lone score. A 1-out RBI single from Win Johns later in the frame knotted the score up at three runs apiece.
BOT 6	The Braves strung together four hits and scored five times in the home half of the sixth to put the game out of reach. Jake Bradley hit a go-ahead RBI single with one out in the inning, and Spencer Faulkner followed with a RBI single himself to make it a 5-3 contest. Christian Jayne's 3-run homer three pitches later finished off the big scoring frame.

UNCP LEADERS	CSU LEADERS
Christian Jayne 2-5, HR, 4 RBI Carlos Amezquita 3-4, 2 R Will Hood 3-5, RBI, R Kody O'Connor 1-4, HR, 2 RBI	Win Johns 2-5, HR, 2 RBI Ian King 1-3, BB Trace Twardoski 1-2, 2 BB Steven Minter 1-4, BB, R

 

UP NEXT

The Braves will play another elimination contest at the NCAA Southeast Regional on Saturday when they take the field to battle the loser of Friday evening's contest between 8th-ranked Newberry and 19th-ranked Belmont Abbey. Saturday's elimination contest is slated for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch.

 

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BACK THE BRAVES

Fans can help support the UNC Pembroke Baseball program by joining the Braves Club, or by making a gift directly to the program. To find out more information about the Braves Club, visit UNCPBraves.com/BravesClub or email braves.club@uncp.edu. To make a monetary gift, visit UNCPBraves.com/Give and indicate "baseball team" in notes section.