CARY, N.C. – Marquis Johnson (Jr./Richmond, VA) fired a four-hitter in nine complete innings and No. 3 seed Saint Augustine's University pounded out 14 hits to upend No. 2 seed Chowan University 10-1 in the first round of the CIAA Baseball Championship Tournament at the USA Baseball National Training Complex on Thursday, April 28, 2016.

The victory sent the Falcons to Friday's semifinal round for the first time since 2011. They take on top-seed Winston-Salem State University at 12 p.m. The winner advances to Saturday's championship round while the loser faces Chowan in the elimination bracket at 3 p.m. Friday.

Live stats will be available for the semifinal contest.  For more information and additional updates, visit or follow the CIAA on Facebook (TheCIAA), Twitter (@CIAAForLife), and Instagram (@CIAASports).

The Falcons reached the winner's bracket behind superb pitching from Johnson and a productive offense. The junior right-hander silenced the bats of Chowan, which lead the CIAA in batting average. He finished with five strikeouts, five walks and, most importantly, one earned run.

His teammates gave Johnson more than enough run support. All-CIAA player Carey Cheek (Sr./Baltimore, MD) led the way with a double, three RBIs and one run scored on 3-for-6 hitting. Hector Pichardo (Fr./Dominican Republic) was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Ricky Martin (Sr./Raleigh, NC) was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. All-CIAA player William Thomas (Sr./Yorktown, VA) doubled, drove in one run and scored twice while Darrell Langston (So./Chicago, IL) was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.

The Falcons struck early and often, scoring in every inning but the first, eighth and ninth. Langston scored the first run on Pichardo's RBI single and Thomas scored on an infield error for a 2-0 lead in the second inning.

In the third inning, Cheek scored Martin on an RBI double and later scored on Thomas' RBI double. Cheek added an RBI single in the fourth inning which scored Cameron Lopez (Fr./Vineland, NJ) for a 5-0 lead. The Falcons scored a run in the fifth inning when Tyquan Bryant (Fr./Henderson, NC) scored Thomas on an RBI single.

Chowan threatened once in the contest. Down 6-0, the Hawks loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fifth but only managed one run. Johnson forced the Hawks to pop out twice in the outfield.

The Falcons recorded the third out when Bryant rifled a throw home to Pichardo after making a catch in center field. Pichardo, spotting a runner heading to third base after tagging up, simply threw to Thomas for the out.

The Falcons coasted from that point, scoring two runs each in the sixth and seventh innings. They stretched the lead to 8-1 on Carter's RBI single which scored Martin and Pichardo's sacrifice fly which scored Langston. In the seventh inning, Martin scored Corey Brassington (Jr./Raleigh, NC) on a sacrifice fly and Cheek scored Bryant on an RBI single.

Scott Edge of Chowan, who allowed five runs and seven hits in four innings, took the pitching loss. Connor Arcobasso had two of the Hawks' four hits.