ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. –
Josh Pagliei hit three singles, scored a run and drove in two more as Flagler College held off a late rally by Georgia College to escape with a 6-5 victory in a Peach Belt Conference baseball game Sunday afternoon at Drysdale Field.
Flagler sweeps the series against Georgia College and improves to 12-3 overall and 3-0 in the Peach Belt. The Bobcats fall to 7-5 overall and are 0-3 in conference play.
The Saints sent eight men to the plate in the fifth inning and it was Pagliei drawing a bases loaded walk which scored the sixth run for Flagler. The Saints held a 6-1 lead through five innings of play.
Georgia College answered with four in the top of the sixth as Clayten Ayres singled home Nate Schmal and Evan Troutt greeted Flagler reliever
MacLain Larson with a bases-clearing single to cut the deficit to one run. Troutt would have had a double, but he tripped over first base, and when the throw to the plate got away from Flagler catcher
Jason Moore, Troutt tried to advance to second, but was thrown out.
The Bobcats threatened again in the ninth with the bases loaded and nobody out.
Ryan Ashworth got a shallow fly out which the Bobcats could not score on, and then a tapper was hit back to the mound and Ashworth flipped the ball Moore for the second out. Ayres flied out to center to end the game.
Cooper Wallace (3-0) tossed 5 1/3 innings, scattered four hits and allowed four earned runs. He walked three and fanned five. Ashworth picked up his first save for closing the game out. Larson and
Dante Pagano also saw time on the hill.
Jake Hathaway continued to feast on Bobcat pitching as he went 2-for-5 with a double and he scored a run. He hit .462 in the series with six hits.
Dylan Jones belted a two-run home run in the fourth inning.
Logan Mattix (0-1) tossed 3 2/3 innings, allowed eight hits and four runs in picking up the loss. Logan Hicks, Grant Khan and Brady Walsh pitched in relief.
Brandon Purcell collected two singles and scored a run for Georgia College. Garrett Green also hit two singles.
Flagler will take on No. 20 (
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 40) Florida Southern College on Tuesday (Feb. 28) at Lakeland with first pitch at 6 p.m.