GREENWOOD - The Lander baseball team erupted for seven runs in the seventh inning Friday night en route to a 10-4 Peach Belt Conference victory over Augusta University in the opening tilt of their three-game series at Dolny Stadium.

Lander improves to 18-5 overall and 10-3 in the PBC, while Augusta drops to 13-8, 5-2. The two teams will play the second game at 6 p.m. Saturday and wind up the series at 1 p.m., Sunday.

Will Jones (3-2) earned the victory on the mound for the Bearcats after striking out seven, walking one and allowing four earned runs on nine hits in 8.1 innings.

Tristan Jones suffered the loss for the Jags, striking out 10, walking two and allowing four earned runs on six hits on 6.1 innings.

Augusta took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Gage Patton's solo home run to right field, then added another run in the fourth on Cole Thompson's RBI single that plated Connor Gilbert.

The Bearcats stormed back in the bottom of the fourth to knot the score at 2-2 when John Mangum doubled in Colby Lusignan, and Taylor Kellner's RBI single scored Mangum.

Lander went up 10-2 in the seventh when the Bearcats exploded for eight runs after Lusignan cleared the bases with a right-field double that sent Zach Daly, Matt White and Mason Dodd home; Mangum drove in Lusignan and followed him across the plate on a throwing error; Gatlin Minick blasted a two-run homer over the left field fence; and White's RBI single plated Dodd.

The Jaguars finalized the scoring in the ninth on Tyler Roberts' RBI double and Hunter Boose's RBI single.

For the Bearcats, White batted 3-for-4, while Lusignan and Mangum added two hits apiece.

Clinty Hardy and Thompson had two hits each for Augusta.