JACKSONVILLE, Fla. − Aoyama Gakuin University of Japan closed out its United States tour with a 7-6 win over Flagler College in an exhibition game Thursday afternoon at Harmon Stadium.

The Saints closed to within a run, 5-4, on the back of a Kris King (Youngstown, Ohio/Santa Fe CC) RBI-triple to right-center. The Saints tied at 6-all in the top of the sixth, but Aoyama Gakuin scored the game winning run on a sacrifice fly.

Aoyama Gakuin, a four-time Japanese collegiate champion, posted wins over North Florida (9-3), Ohio State (10-4), UNC-Greensboro (6-2) and the University of Florida (6-3). Their most famous alumni is current Chicago White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi.

The stats are not official as the game was an exhibition and were not recorded.

Flagler returns to action tomorrow (Mar. 10) at 7 p.m. against Georgia Southwestern University, kicking off a three-game set against the Hurricanes.



Aoyama Gaukin 7, Flagler College 6 (Mar 07, 2006 at St. Augustine, Fla.)
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Flagler College..... 000 132 000 - 6 12 5
Aoyama Gakuin U..... 202 111 00X - 7 11 1
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Battery: Flagler College - Picard; Roche(6); Hish (8) and Marquez; Darnofall(6); Tomlinson (8). Aoyama Gakuin - Uetsuhara; Nakayama(5); Fukushima(6); Hiroyuki (6); Yusuke (9) and Tanaka; Otaka (4); Yoshihara (9).
Win-Hiroyuki Loss-Roche T-2:45 A-69