ST. AUGUSTINE – Flagler College got timely hitting and strong pitching to sweep a non-conference baseball doubleheader against Barry University Sunday afternoon at Drysdale Field. Flagler won the opener 7-2 and held on to complete the sweep in game two, 3-2. The Saints swept the three-game series.
Flagler extended its season-best winning streak to six games and improved to 14-11 overall. Barry lost its fifth game in a row and fell to 16-11.
In the opener,
Mike O'Reilly (4-2) tossed a complete game four-hitter as he allowed only two runs and struck out a career-high 12 batters.
After Barry tied the game at 2-all in the top of the seventh, Flagler took advantage of a Barry miscue to break the tie.
Dylan Jones led off the seventh inning with a single to center and
Nick Oberg followed with a walk.
Jake Hathaway then laid down a bunt between the pitcher's mound and the third base line where Barry starter Luis Deville (4-1) fielded the bunt, but he rushed his throw to get the force out at third base and the ball sailed down the left field line allowing a run to score. Lance Elder replaced Deville on the hill with runners at second and third and got
Jabe Molinaro to fly out to right field which scored Oberg from third, but Hathaway was thrown out trying to go to third on the throw to the plate.
Flagler added three more runs in the eighth when Oberg's two-out bases loaded bloop single on the right field line cleared the bases.
Jones collected three singles and scored three runs for the Saints. Hathaway hit a double in the eighth.
Deville tossed six-plus innings, scattered five hits and allowed two earned runs for the Buccaneers.
Ryan Baldwin hit two singles.
In the nightcap, the Saints scored all of its runs in the first two innings.
Kolin McMillen hit an RBI triple in the right-center field gap and then scored on a ground out to spot Flagler a 2-0 lead after one inning of play.
Hathaway led off the second inning with a single to left and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Jones. On the fly ball, Flagler had runners at second and third base with one out and Jones hit a long fly ball that Barry right fielder Baldwin made a spectacular diving catch in foul territory. But by catching the ball, he allowed Hathaway, who was on third base, to tag up and score to give the Saints a 3-0 lead.
That's all Flagler would get off of Barry reliever Nate Greve whose first batter was Jones. He tossed 6.2 scoreless innings and allowed only three hits. He fanned six.
Flagler starter
Dustin Dye (3-3) was able to even his record after he tossed 5.1 scoreless innings. He allowed six hits and fanned three.
Kyle Schackne earned his second save of the season, as well as the series, by tossing the last 2.1 innings without allowing a run. He fanned two batters.
Jones went 2-for-3 with a triple, a run scored and an RBI. McMillen went 2-for-4 with a triple, a run scored and an RBI.
Ramon Valdez hit a two-run home run in the seventh for Barry.
Daniel Broeseker (2-2) took the loss after tossing 1.1 innings and surrendering five hits as well as all three runs.
The Flagler pitching staff this weekend posted a 2.00 earned run average and struck out 32 batters in 27 innings pitched. They also held a team that was batting .337 entering the weekend to a .234 batting average over the three games. Jones batted a team-best .778 (7-for-9) in the three-game series for the Saints.
Flagler will travel to St. Petersburg to make up a game that was rained out at the start of the season on Tuesday (March 22) at 4 p.m.
