ST. AUGUSTINE – James Jean belted two solo home runs in the second game to help Flagler College earn a doubleheader split with Nova Southeastern University Saturday afternoon at Drysdale Field. The Sharks won the opener, 2-0, while the Saints took game two, 3-2. Flagler took the three-game series, 2-1.

Flagler is now 6-6 overall this season. Nova Southeastern leaves with a 7-7 record.

The second game was every bit of a pitcher's duel. Flagler freshman Luke Cooksey, making his first collegiate start, matched Nova Southeastern's Jonny Ortiz pitch-for-pitch.

After falling behind 1-0 in the third inning, Jean lofted his first home run of the season over the left field fence to lead off the fame.

Ortiz retired nine batters in a row from the fifth to the seventh innings. However, it was Jean again, with the Saints trailing 2-1, who led off the eighth inning with a solo blast into the woods behind left field. Ortiz settled down to retire the next two batters, but Dylan Jones nearly missed a home run to right field as the ball hit the top of the fence and caromed off so Jones cruised into second with a double. Kolin McMillen threaded a single back up the middle to score Jones with the eventual game-winning run.

Jeremy Graf (1-0), who came on in relief of Cooksey in the seventh, retired the side in the ninth in order. In fact, Graf retired all nine batters he faced with four strikeouts. Cooksey tossed six innings, scattered five hits, allowed two earned runs, walked one and struck out seven batters.

McMillen collected a pair of singles and drove in one run. Jean went 2-for-3 with the two solo homers.

Ortiz (1-1) lasted 7.2 innings, allowed seven hits and three runs. He only tossed 72 pitches and he induced 14 ground outs.

Antonio Rodriguez collected two singles and scored a run for the Sharks.  

The first game was another pitcher's duel, this one between Matt Hardy and Dustin Dye.

Dye (2-1) had a no-hitter running for 6.2 innings until Daniel Zardon ended it with a single to left-center.

The Sharks finally got to Dye in the eighth. With one out, Andres Visbal, whose at bat was kept alive by a misplayed foul pop up to third, hit a ringing single to center. Dylan Woods followed with an infield single to second base which knocked Dye from the game. Kyle Schackne came in and threw a wild pitch to move the runners up a base. Then pinch hitter Brendan Cutting hit a 2-0 pitch into right field which scored both runners for the only runs of the game.

Hardy (3-0) tossed seven scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked three and struck out three. Devin Raftery earned his second save of the season pitching a nearly perfect two innings as his only blemish was a hit batter. He fanned two.

Five Sharks hits singles in the first game.

Dye tossed 7.1 innings, allowed only three hits and one earned run. He walked two and struck out three batters. Michael Hanke struck out the only two batters he faced in the ninth.

Bryce Evans, McMillen and Nick Oberg all had singles for the Saints.

Flagler is on the road on Tuesday (March 1) at Albany State University for a non-conference doubleheader starting at 3 p.m.