LEESBURG, Fla. – No. 10 (
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II Top 30) Flagler College swept a non-conference baseball doubleheader from No. 21 (NAIA) Mount Vernon Nazarene University Friday afternoon at Pat Thomas Stadium.
Flagler improved to 22-4 overall as it won its fourth consecutive game. Mount Vernon Nazarene fell to 9-5.
In the first game, Flagler trailed 1-0 going into the fourth inning.
Skylar Fox hit an RBI-double to tie the game and then scored on a single by
Kolin McMillen to give the Saints a 2-1 lead.
Igor Baez added an RBI-single in the fifth and then McMillen hit an RBI-double to the left-center field gap in the sixth inning to give Flagler a 4-1 lead.
Danny Brown (5-2) tossed four innings, scattered two hits, allowed one run and fanned four batters to pick up the win.
Mike O'Reilly tossed the final three to pick up his first save of the season. He also struck out four batters and allowed just one hit.
McMillen finished 3-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in.
Lorenzo Butler collected three singles and scored a run.
Efrain Montero belted a solo home run to dead center in the second to account for the Cougars' lone run. Riley Swanson added a double.
Reliever Cameron Juhasz (1-1) was tagged with the loss. He tossed two innings, allowed five hits and three runs. Lucas Daugherty started and tossed three scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
In the second game, the Saints once again had to rally from an early deficit. Mount Vernon Nazarene scored a run in the bottom of the first, but Flagler tied it in the third.
With Jacob Tharp (0-1), the Cougars' third pitcher of the game, on the hill, Butler greeted him with a base hit and then stole second base. Two batters later, Butler was able to move to third on a fly out and scored the go-ahead run on
Shawn Hendon's single to right-center to give the Saints a 2-1 lead.
Michael Hanke came on in the bottom of the seventh to close the door and earn his fifth save. He walked a batter and allowed a single in the seventh, but he did not allow a run.
MacLain Larson (2-0) pitched a scoreless sixth inning to earn the win.
Hendon went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and an RBI for Flagler.
Nick Oberg went 2-for-4 with a double while Fox collected two singles.
Tharp allowed two hits and one run in his inning of work for Mount Vernon Nazarene.
Anthony Clark went 2-for-4 with a double while Montero singled twice and drove in a run.
Up next for Flagler is a game at No. 5 Florida Tech on Tuesday (March 24) at 6 p.m.
