Young Harris eliminates Braves from NCAA regional

SALISBURY — Fourth-seeded UNC Pembroke faced another early deficit, but chipped away at the Young Harris lead before eventually falling 9-7 in elimination game action Saturday afternoon at Newman Park.

The Braves brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth after Joey Rezek’s two-run blast, his 22nd of the year, cut the lead in half, but the Mountain Lions got a fly out to end the game and season for the Black & Gold.

Will Hood paced the offense with a 3-for-4, two-homer, four-RBI day, while Rezek’s 22 home runs are the most by a Brave since Collins Cuthrell hit 25 during the 2015 season.

Spencer Ledford kept the Braves in the game with 3 2/3 scoreless and hitless innings, walking just one to go along with five strikeouts.

The Braves (43-14) fell to 18-8 in the all-time series with the Mountain Lions (41-14).

The 43 wins are the second-most in school history, falling one short of tying the record set by the 2011 club.

UNCP’s 92 home runs as a team shattered the previous school record of 73 set by the 2015 squad, while the 554 runs scored established a new school record as well, also breaking the record set in 2015. Spencer Faulkner finished his UNCP career with 240 hits, good for sixth all-time in program history.

Jack Enrico got the Mountain Lions on the board first with an RBI double, while Jeremy Begora followed with a two-run blast. Young Harris would score two more on a Braves error to take a 5-0 lead after one inning.

UNCP’s Hood led off the third frame with a solo blast to right center to make it a 5-1 game.

Young Harris answered back in the bottom half with a Jace Wilson RBI double to make it 6-1.

Kody O’Connor led off the Braves’ fourth with a double and would score on Jake Bradley’s RBI single, before Hood struck again, this time a two-run shot to cut the deficit to 6-4.

The Mountain Lions countered again as Begora connected for his second two-run homer of the day to stretch the lead back out to 8-4 after four innings.

Andrew Jenner reached on a two-out sixth-inning double and would come around to score on Hood’s RBI single to make it 9-5.

Michael Dolberry II laced a ball off the right center field wall for a ninth-inning double for the Braves, and came home on Joey Rezek’s two-run opposite field blast to make it 9-7. O’Connor would reach on a single before Dylan Beck retired the next two Braves hitters to close out the victory.

Jenner had two hits for UNCP. Spencer Ledford pitched 3 2/3 innings of hitless, scoreless relief with five strikeouts. Will Harris (6-1) took the loss.

Begora had two hits and five RBIs to lead the Mountain Lions and Enrico had a hit and two walks with an RBI. Dylan Beck (10-2) pitched a complete game allowing 12 hits and seven earned runs for Young Harris.