GREENWOOD - Lander got strong starting pitching from Brandon Farquhar and Darrin Tew, and Pete Hernandez homered and drove in six runs, leading the Bearcats to a non-conference baseball double-header sweep over Felician College, 6-2 and 11-2, Saturday afternoon at Legion Field. (Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box)
Lander improved to 8-1 on the season while the Golden Falcons from Lodi, N.J., who were opening their season Saturday after having their scheduled opener snowed out in South Carolina last weekend, are 0-2.
The teams will conclude their three-game series Sunday afternoon at 1 o'clock at Legion Field.
Farquhar and reliever Drew Elliott pitched the Bearcats to victory in the opener, and Lander took advantage of 14 walks by five Felician pitchers in the second game with Hernandez driving in five runs.
Lander took a 1-0 lead in the second inning of Game 1 on Joe Tebaldi's RBI single.
The Falcons tied it in the top of the third when Jon Arche doubled down the left-field line, moved to third on Mickey Zudonyi's sacrifice bunt, and scored on Phillip Messerian's fielder's choice.
The Bearcats took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third, loading the bases when Robert Skinner singled to center, Bud Lanier reached on an error, and Hernandez walked. Ryan McNulty had a run-scoring fielder's choice and Alan Abreu added a sacrifice fly.
Lander took a 4-1 lead in the fifth when Skinner singled, moved to second on Lanier's bunt, and scored on Hernandez' single to center.
The Falcons pulled within 4-2 in the sixth when Marcos Torres, Dan Morris and Chris Fogleman singled to load the bases, and Joe Petosa drove in the run on a fielder's choice.
The Bearcats took a 5-2 lead in the seventh when Devin Ridlehoover singled, moved to third when Skinner reached on a two-base error, and scored on Lanier's sacrifice fly.
Lander added its final run in the eighth when Abreu was hit by a pitch, stole second, moved to third on a passed ball, and scored on an error.
Skinner was the Bearcats' leading hitter in the opener, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Fogleman led Felician, also going 2-for-4.
Farquhar (2-0) got the win, allowing two runs on eight hits in six innings of work, striking out four and walking none. Elliott got his second save of the season, pitching three hitless innings with six strikeouts and one walk. Danny Conti (0-1) took the loss for the Falcons.
Felician took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning of Game 2 with the help of three Lander errors. Alex Del Valle hit a sacrifice fly for the Falcons in the inning.
The Bearcats were even more opportunistic in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of four walks to score five runs. Lanier had an RBI single to score Lander's first run of the inning, Skinner scored the tying run when he took off for the plate when Lanier was caught in a run-down between first and second bases, and Hernandez followed with a three-run homer just over the left-feld fence. It was his team-leading third homer of the season.
The Bearcats added four runs in the fifth, taking a 9-2 lead. Hernandez hit an RBI single, McNulty reached base on a strikeout to score a run, Aaron Fludd had a run-scoring fielder's choice for his first collegiate RBI, and Tebaldi added an RBI single.
Lander scored its final two runs in the eighth on Hernandez's RBI single and Fludd's bases-loaded walk.
Leading hitters in Game 2 for Lander were Hernandez, 3-for-5 with two runs and five RBI; and Brooks Reames, 2-for-4 with a triple.
Tew (2-1) picked up the victory, allowing two unearned runs on three hits in six innings, striking out four and walking one. Ben Runyon, Michael White and Casey Pippin finished up with a scoreless inning of relief apiece. Jeff Calabrese (0-1) took the loss for Felician.
