PEMBROKE, N.C. – The Lander baseball team allowed 11 runs over the final three innings as No. 21 UNC Pembroke pulled away late to claim an 18-8 win in the first game of the Peach Belt Conference series. 

Lander (5-6, 1-3 PBC) rallied from a 7-1 deficit after three innings to tie the game at 7-7 in the top of the sixth, but the Braves (9-1, 3-1 PBC) used a five-run sixth inning to retake the lead and hold off the Bearcats. 

An RBI single from Carson Jones gave Lander an early lead in the first inning, but the UNCP offense answered quickly, plating three runs in the first and building a six-run lead through three innings. 

The Bearcats struck back in the fourth with home runs from Jones and Bailey Connell before Vincent Addona's RBI double pull Lander within two. Another homer from Jones in the fifth and a solo shot from Kyle Jenkins in the sixth knotted the score at 7-7 before the Braves broke the game open. 

Nathan Schreckengost's ninth inning home run capped the scoring. 

Jones finished the night 4-for-5 with three RBI and two homers. The five long balls were the most from the Bearcat offense this season.

Lander and UNC Pembroke resume the series Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.