GREENWOOD – The Lander baseball team fell to the UNC Pembroke Braves in a pair of games at Dolny Stadium on Saturday.

The Bearcats fall to 14-10 overall and 10-9 in the PBC while UNC Pembroke moves up to 18-5 overall and 14-3 in the PBC.

Lander fell 10-5 in the first game to the Braves after scoring two or more runs in the final four innings.

It would take until the third inning for the Bearcats to plate the first run of the game after senior Roury Glanton slammed a double to right field to score redshirt junior Bradley Davis. The Bearcats would push their lead to 3-0 in the fourth. Sophomore Landon Dupert came home to score on a passed ball while junior Bo Richey drove in redshirt junior Evan Harold in on a double to right center.

The Braves responded in the sixth inning with three of their own to tie the game. UNC Pembroke used three singles and some expert bases running to score its runs. The seventh saw both teams plate two runs to keep the game tied. UNC Pembroke scored runs on a double and single while Lander saw both its runs in the inning come from a two-run home run from Glanton to center field.

UNC Pembroke continued to score, with two more coming around in the eighth off a double to right field and a sacrifice fly to left.

The Bearcats were unable to counter in the eighth or ninth innings while the Braves brought home three more insurance runs in the ninth to make it a 10-5 contest.

Grad student Marshall Thompson would get the start and went 6.1 innings against the Braves. Thompson allowed six hits, five runs, three walks and struck out seven. Redshirt junior Davis Cunningham was given the loss after allowing two runs on two hits in an inning of action.

The second game between the Bearcats and Braves was filled with excitement and plenty of waiting.

Both teams scored in the first frame, as the Braves brought home a runner from third after an attempted steal to second turned into a run down. Lander was able to take a 3-1 lead after the first due in part to a sac fly from Dupert and a two-run home run from Harold.

Sparks began to fly for the Braves as they took a two-run lead in the third off a pair of solo shots to go up 5-3. Lander would see a run come across in the third thanks to an error from the Braves second baseman.

The bats began to heat up for the Bearcats in the fourth as Glanton brought home sophomore Tyler Prell off a double down the left field line while Dupert bashed a two-run home run to right center field to make it 7-3 Bearcats after four.

UNC Pembroke wouldn't take long to respond, with the Braves bringing two runs across on a double to left field along with a run off a ground ball to short in the fifth. Six runs would come home to score in the sixth inning for the Braves. Two runs would come across from a pair of wild pitches, a double to left would score one run while a two-run home run to right center would bring around the other two runs to give UNC Pembroke an 11-7 lead.

After seeing the Braves score once more in the seventh, the Bearcats offense woke up to plate five runs and tie the game at 12. After Richey helped bring home a run from being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, redshirt sophomore Justin Wager came into pinch hit and blasted a grand slam to left field to bring the game even.

Both sides continued to battle in the eighth, with two runs coming across for both the Braves and Bearcats. The Braves plated two on a single up the middle with the bases loaded. After the top of the inning, the two sides went into a lightning delay, haunting play in its tracks. When the two teams returned in the bottom of the inning, Lander saw junior Mason Streater double down the right field line to score a pair to tie the game at 14.

With a runner on third, the Braves put a ball in play down the third base line that wasn't able to get to first in time, allowing UNC Pembroke to take a 15-14 advantage.

The Bearcats would go down in order to close out the second game of the doubleheader.

Junior Carson Schlegel went four innings to begin the game. He let up six runs on seven hits, walked three and struck out four. The Bearcats sent out seven arms in total for the second game, with sophomore Bryce Jackson awarded the loss.

Lander and UNC Pembroke battle once more tomorrow, as the two sides get set to begin at 10 am on Sunday.

#cLawsUp | @LanderBaseball