FLORENCE, S.C. – The "never say die" Flagler College baseball team won its third elimination game in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament with a 4-3 victory over No. 28 (
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II Top 30) University of North Carolina at Pembroke Friday evening at Sparrow Stadium.
Flagler improved to 31-23 overall and 3-1 in the conference tournament. The Saints are the first team since the 2013 Columbus State University club to win three elimination games. That was the last year the tournament used a double-elimination format until this year. UNC Pembroke fell to 39-14 overall and 2-1 in the tournament. Both teams will play a winner-take-all game on Saturday at 10 a.m. The winner advances to Saturday's championship game.
The Saints trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the eighth inning.
Cole Ondrejka led off the inning by lacing a double down the left field line.
Igor Baez followed with a five-pitch walk from UNCP reliever Aaron Biggerstaff (2-1). A ground out to shortstop by
Jason Moore forced Baez at second and Ondrejka scampered to third.
Jake Hathaway singled back up the middle to score Ondrejka with the game-tying run.
Bobby Bassler hit a soft-liner into right field and Moore just beat the throw home, from second base, to put the Saints ahead.
Ethan Jones (4-0) retired the side in order in the top of the ninth to preserve the win. He tossed 2 1/3 innings and retired the last seven batters in a row.
Dustin Dye started and tossed two innings and then
Nick Martinez did a great job in middle relief tossing 4 2/3 innings with five strikeouts. The Saints staff held a Braves offense, which was averaging over nine runs per game, to only three runs.
Dylan Jones went 2-for-4with a double. His double to lead off the fifth inning broke two records – Flagler's single-season record, which was held by Chris Barnwell (2001), and the PBC single-season record, which was held by Kyle Catrett of North Florida (2000) and Chris Grady of Georgia College (1996).
Jake Hathaway collected two singles and had one run batted in. Moore scored two runs.
Biggerstaff took the loss in relief for the Braves. He pitched two innings and allowed two runs on three hits. Kyle Boraski started and lasted six innings.
Luke Jackson went 2-for-4 with a double for UNCP. Stibel Aleman Saba added two singles and an RBI.
Heading into the game, Flagler was 0-18 when trailing after seven innings.