ST. AUGUSTINE – Flagler College and Florida Southern College split a non-conference doubleheader Wednesday evening at Flagler Field. The Saints won the opener 8-5, but the Moccasins won the nightcap 9-4.
Flagler moves to 24-23 overall while Florida Southern was able to snap a five-game losing streak and its record goes to 24-19.
In the opener, Flagler took advantage of a couple of Florida Southern errors to score six unearned runs in the fifth inning and wipe out a 2-1 deficit.
The Saints started the inning with three consecutive singles.
Genevieve Mangini,
Natalie Murphy and
Morgan Murphy loaded the bases, the latter ended the day in the circle for Aubrey Ehlers (5-4). Two batters later with two outs, Hayley Kirinsky reached on a fielding error by Moccasin second baseman Alex Mace. That allowed Mangini and
Natalie Murphy to score. A wild pitch moved the runners up a base, and then an infield single by
Jaclyn Mijuskovic scored
Morgan Murphy.
Cassie Patterson supplied the power with a pinch-hit three-run home run to left-center to stake the Saints to a 7-2 lead.
Flagler added one more in the sixth and then held on in the top of the seventh as Florida Southern plated three runs and had the game-tying run at the plate with two outs, but pinch hitter Ann Scios flied out to right field.
Katlyn McCue (15-11) earned the win in relief. She scattered nine hits and allowed three runs.
Ally Marcano started and tossed 2 1/3 innings.
Mangini led the 12-hit Saints attack with three singles and she scored a run. Both Murphys hit two singles, but Morgan scored two runs while Natalie scored one. Mijuskovic went 2-for-2 with a double, two runs batted in and she scored a run.
In the second game, the Saints jumped out to an early 4-0 lead.
Morgan Murphy hit a two-run single in the bottom of the first inning and added a two-run double in the third, but that would be all Flagler could muster.
The Mocs rallied for three in the fourth and then Jenna Weldon helped her own cause with a grand slam in a five-run fifth to vault past the Saints.
Weldon (5-4) tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief and fanned seven. She also went 3-for-4 with the home run, four RBI and two runs scored. Desirae Klumpp went 4-for-4 with a double and she scored a run. Kensie Green went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI.
Marcano (9-12) took the loss in the circle for the Saints. She hurled four-plus innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits. McCann finished up.
Morgan Murphy went 2-for-4 with a double and she collected four RBI. Mangini and
Natalie Murphy each hit a single.
Flagler closes out its home season on Saturday with a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader against Georgia Southwestern State University at 1 p.m. at Flagler Field.
