ST. AUGUSTINE – No. 20 (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II Top 30) Flagler College split a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader with Lander University Saturday at Drysdale Field. Flagler won the opener 10-4 while Lander salvaged the split with an 8-3 win.

Flagler took the series 2-1 and are now 16-7 overall and 5-1 in the Peach Belt. Lander moves to 9-13 overall and 4-5 in conference play.

Prior to the game, Joe Boles was honored with the 25^th annual J. Edward "Red" Cox Award for his many years of service to the local community.

In the opener, Flagler starter Dustin Dye (2-2) retired 10 batters in a row after issuing a lead-off walk in the top of the first inning. He tossed six innings, scattered five hits and allowed one earned run. Dye walked three and struck out three. He induced 10 ground ball outs and three more fly outs.

Jason Moore hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to break-up a 1-all tie.

In the fifth the Saints plated five runs as they sent nine men to the plate. A Lander error led to two of those five runs to be unearned.

After the Bearcats got two of those runs back in the top of the sixth, the Saints got those runs right back in the home half. Igor Baez led off the frame with a home run and Ethan Crout scored on a sacrifice fly to give Flagler a 9-3 lead.

Nick Martinez earned his first save of the season as he closed the final three innings, allowed one hit, one run and he tied his career-high in strikeouts with six.

Baez went 3-for-5 with two run scored. He was a triple shy of the cycle. Dylan Jones went 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs scored and two runs batted in. Jake Hathaway and Crout each hit a double.

Sam Linn (0-4) tossed 4 1/3 innings, allowed eight hits and five runs. He walked six and struck out six.

Nathan Schreckengost went 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI for the Bearcats. Reed Gray singled twice and he knocked in a run.

In the second game, JD Cook and Joseph Witt (2-1) kept the Saints offense at bay. Cook started and he lasted 5 1/3 innings. He allowed four hits and two earned runs. Cook struck out six and walked three. Whitt finished the last 3 2.3 innings and only gave up two hits. He fanned four.

The Bearcats scored three runs in the third all with the help of Ryan Troutman's single to left, with the bases loaded and two outs, which was misplayed and cleared all of the bases.

Flagler tied it up in the sixth. Moore led off the inning with a single to center. Baez followed with a single up the middle and Moore trucked on into third base, but drew an errant throw by the Lander center fielder allowing him to score. The third baseman gathered the loose ball and fired to second base to try and catch Baez advancing to second, but his throw went into right field, which allowed Baez to scamper to third. He scored on Cole Ondrejka's ground out to tie the game.

Lander quickly re-gained the lead when Gatlin Minick's deep fly ball down the right field line was dropped by Hathaway allowing Minick to chug around the bases. The throw into third base could not be handled and Minick wound up scoring.

The Bearcats added some insurance in the eighth with a four-run outburst.

Alex Conaway led the Bearcats going 2-for-4 with a triple, three RBI and two runs scored. Alex Dowell went 2-for-4 with a double while Colton Yeager singled twice and scored a run.

Michael Maiocco (5-1) took the loss after pitching 7 1/3 innings. He surrendered seven hits and four earned runs. He struck out 10 batters and walked two. Luke Cooksey and Dante Pagano closed out the game.

Moore collected two singles, scored a run and drove in another while David Drysdale also had two singles and he scored a run.

Flagler will take on West Chester University on Tuesday (March 14) in a doubleheader at Pat Thomas Stadium in Leesburg, Florida at 12:30 p.m.