GREENWOOD – The Lander baseball team broke a 6-6 tie with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth and held off rival Erskine for an 8-7 win on Wednesday night at Dolny Stadium. 

The Bearcats (7-18) earned their 14th consecutive win over Erskine (19-9) and snapped a four-game losing skid. 

"Rivalry games are never easy," said head coach Jason Burke. "We didn't play perfect tonight, but I've been telling these guys that you don't have to be perfect to win. I think they have to be sometimes because we've not been playing great baseball, but getting a win helps your confidence and I'm hoping it sparks something for us heading into this weekend."

Lander got on the board in the bottom of the first. Colton Yeager doubled off the centerfield wall and come home to score on a single up the middle from Kyle Jenkins. After an errant pickoff throw allowed Jenkins to advance to second, Nathan Schreckengost dropped a double just inside the right field line to give the Bearcats a 2-0 lead. 

The Bearcats extended the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the second as Luke Johnson drew a leadoff walk and stole second base. A groundout from Bailey Connell sent Johnson to third and a wild pitch allowed the Bearcat catcher to score. 

Lander tacked on another run in the third when Schreckengost was hit by a pitch and advanced to third following a walk and a fielder's choice. With two outs, a throwing error on a Connell grounder allowed Schreckengost to score as the Bearcat lead increased to 4-0. 

Erskine chipped away with a pair of two-out runs in the top of the fourth, courtesy of RBI singles from Isaiah Lewis and Connor Greene, and cut Lander's lead to 4-3 on a Chase Watts RBI single. 

Carson Jones reached on a walk to begin the bottom of the fifth and came around to score thanks to two wild pitches and a passed ball. Mike Fitschen followed with a double off the right field wall as Lander extended the lead to 6-3. 

The Flying Fleet rallied for three runs in the top of the sixth, but Lander answered once more as Vincent Addona walked and stole second to open the frame. A sac bunt from Yeager sent Addona to third and Conner Davis tallied the first RBI of his career with a groundout to second that gave Lander a 7-6 advantage. Schreckengost then tallied his second RBI of the night as he singled home Jones to make the score 8-6. 

Erskine drew within a run in the top of the eighth, but Robbie Hoyt slammed the door in the ninth to give Lander the win.

JD Cook (3-3) earned the win by allowing one earned run over 2.0 innings, while Hoyt picked up his second save with six strikeouts in 3.0 innings of work. 

Erskine's Terry Hall (0-1) took the loss, allowing two runs on two hits in 1.0 inning. 

Lander opens up a Peach Belt Conference series against Francis Marion on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. at Dolny Stadium.