WILSON—Senior Samson Williams led all players with three hits including his team-high 10th home run of the season in St. Andrews Presbyterian College’s 9-5 loss at Conference Carolinas rival Barton College on Sunday afternoon at Nixon Field.

The Bulldogs (21-24 Overall, 11-13) won the rubber game to claim its fourth league series win of the season. The Knights (10-33-1, 7-16), who were picked last in the preseason coaches poll, finished eighth out of nine teams in the league standings. Barton will enter the 2010 Conference Carolinas Tournament that they co-host as the No. 5 seed. SAPC did not qualify as the tourney field was trimmed from nine to six teams starting this year.

Williams crushed a solo home run over the center field wall in the top of the first to give St. Andrews a quick 1-0 lead but Barton responded by scoring in each of the first four frames to build an 8-1 advantage midway through the game.

Williams becomes the first Knight to reach the 10-plus home run plateau in a season since Cliff Allred hit 10 home runs in the 2006 season. Williams added a pair of singles later in the game.

Barton tied the score with consecutive singles to start the bottom of the first before exploding for four runs in the bottom of the second. Senior Wesley Francis highlighted the explosion with a go-ahead three-run blast that flew out of the left-center field portion of the field.

The Bulldogs added two runs in the third and one run in both the fourth and sixth to pull away, 9-1, before St. Andrews attempted a late comeback that included four runs in the seventh. Junior Michael Cantwell smacked provided two of the late runs on his fifth home run, a two-run rocket to left.

Cantwell and sophomores Ethan Powell and Michael Ficarro all had two hits for the visitors. Ficarro finished the three-game series going 7-for-11. Junior Manny Williams extended his team best nine-game hit streak to nine games with a single in the eighth.

Bulldogs’ senior starter James Holmes picked up the win allowing four runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings of work. Sophomore reliever Sam Pepper did not allow an earned run over the final 2 2/3 to end the Knights comeback attempt while striking out a game-high four batters.

Freshman Ryan Pierce took the loss in the start for SAPC, getting tagged for five runs (four earned) on five hits over the first two frames.

Six Barton batters had hits with the trio of Francis, Pepper, and junior Matt Willis all tallying two base knocks.

St. Andrews will return to the diamond next week when the Knights host Francis Marion University on Wednesday, Apr. 21 at 3 p.m.