PEMBROKE, N.C. – The Royals scored six runs in the top of the eighth inning and freshman right-hander Daniel Bagwell left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth as the Queens University of Charlotte baseball team completed a season series sweep over UNC Pembroke with a 12-11 win on Wednesday night from Sammy Cox Field.
 
A Noah Jones home run, his 10^th of the season, in the first inning put the Royals (12-25) up early before UNC Pembroke (18-20) used a four-run third inning to jump ahead by a 5-3 score. Queens cut the lead in half with an RBI single from freshman Griffin Hughes in the fourth, but the Braves got the run back in the home half of the fifth inning.
 
Pembroke's lead extended to a 10-5 advantage after scoring four times in the seventh, including a two-run home run the team's third of the game.
 
Freshman Nick Melton got the eighth inning started with a single and later scored on an RBI single from redshirt-sophomore Dominic Ford. Jones drove in two more runs with an RBI single of his own, while redshirt-junior Ryan Dudney's RBI single brought the Royals within a run of tying the game.
 
Jones and Dudney pulled off a double steal of third and second, respectively, forcing Braves' catcher Trevor Clemons to commit a costly throwing error that brought Jones home and evened the score at 10-all. Freshman Nick Brassington drove in a run with his own RBI single to give Queens an 11-10 lead.
 
Queens added an insurance run in the top of the ninth as freshman Alex Sexton reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to second on another Pembroke error, and later scored on the Braves' second error of the inning.
 
Pembroke got a one-out double from Clemons in the bottom half of the ninth and scored on a fielder's choice to cut the Royals' lead in half. After the Braves loaded the bases with just one out, Bagwell entered the game out of the bullpen and got a fly out and a swinging strikeout to preserve the win and earn his second save in as many games.
 
Freshman right-hander Evan Dix (1-1) got his first career win after allowing one unearned run on three hits in one inning of relief. Redshirt-junior Wes Boling also pitched well out of the bullpen, striking out a career-high seven batters in 3.2 innings of work.
 
Ford finished the game 4-for-6 with a triple, an RBI, and three runs scored, while Jones was 3-for-6 with a home run, two runs scored, and five RBI. Redshirt-junior CJ Hammonds entered the game in the sixth inning and went 2-for-2 with a run scored and freshman Tanner Jacobson was 2-for-3 on offense. Brassington, Dudney, and Hughes each recorded an RBI in the win.
 
Queens returns to the friendly confines of Intimidators Stadium in Kannapolis for their final home series of the season this weekend. The Royals host Carson-Newman University in a three-game stint beginning on Friday, April 12 at 6 p.m.