ST. AUGUSTINE – Three Flagler College pitchers combined to limit one of the top offensive teams in the country, No. 7 (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II Top 30) Florida Southern College, to just a one run in a 4-1 win Wednesday evening at Drysdale Field.
Flagler improved to 19-14 overall while Florida Southern had its seven-game win streak snapped and dropped to 23-8.
Flagler's
Jordan Doyle,
Luke Cooksey (3-0) and
Kyle Schackne combined to scatter eight hits and record 11 strikeouts. Florida Southern entered the game averaging 9.0 runs per game, which ranks 12
th in Division II, and is 19
th in batting average with a .335 mark.
The staff got all of the runs it would need in the first with the help of three Moccasin errors. With two outs,
Igor Baez hit a line drive to left-center, but Florida Southern's left fielder Dominic Brugnoni had the ball hit the heal of his glove and kick away.
James Jean followed with a grounder to shortstop where Pablo Cabrera double-clutched and threw late allowing Baez to advance to third and Jean to reach first base.
Bryce Evans hit a grounder to short and Cabrera's throw pulled the first baseman off the bag and Baez scored.
Jean belted a solo home run in the fourth while
Dylan Jones and Baez had RBI singles in the fifth.
Florida Southern scored its only run in the fifth inning on a bases loaded sacrifice fly to center by Sam Machonis.
Cooksey allowed the sac fly as he came in to relieve Doyle with the bases loaded and no one out. He struck out the other two batters. Cooksey tossed three scoreless innings, allowed two hits and fanned five. Doyle, making his first start of the season, tossed four-plus innings, allowed five hits and one run, walked a batter and struck out four. Schackne picked up his fourth save of the season by pitching two scoreless innings and he allowed just one hit with two strikeouts.
A.J. Smith (0-1), the first of five Moccasin pitchers, took the loss and lasted 4.2 innings and surrendered all four hits and three earned runs.
Cabrera singled twice for the Mocs.
Up next for the Saints is a three-game weekend series against Peach Belt Conference rival Armstrong State University. The series starts on Friday (April 8) at 6 p.m. at Drysdale Field.