ST. AUGUSTINE –
Ethan Crout's game-ending RBI single lifted Flagler College over the University of South Carolina Aiken 5-4 in a Peach Belt Conference baseball game Saturday afternoon at Drysdale Field.
Flagler snapped a four-game losing skid to improve to 30-19 overall and 16-13 in the Peach Belt. The Saints hit the 30-win mark for the fourth season in a row. USC Aiken's four-game winning streak was snapped as it dropped to 30-17 overall and 21-8 in conference play.
The Saints rallied to score a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game, and in the ninth, pinch hitter
Ethan Jones drew a one-out walk to set the table.
Steven DiPuglia drew a walk off the third Pacer reliever, Daniel Wiggins, to put runners on first and second. Crout, with a 3-0 count, hit a single to right field that gave Jones enough time to round third base and cross home plate as the throw was cut off.
Robert Girgis (5-4) was masterful after a shaky opening. The lefty retired 18-of-the-20 batters he faced from the third through the eighth innings. Girgis tossed his first complete game and struck out a season-high 12 batters. He scattered seven hits and allowed four runs.
Aaron Anderson paced the offense going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs batted in and he scored a run.
Dillon Reed and
Frankie Martello each hit a double. The Saints finished with six hits.
Blake Seigler (2-1) took the loss in relief for USC Aiken. He tossed one-third of an inning, walked a batter, struck out one, but he was responsible for the game-winning run to score. Christian Aragon started and lasted 7 2/3 innings. He scattered three hits, allowed two earned runs and fanned nine.
Brian Parreira went 2-for-3 with a double and a three-run home run in the second inning. Nile Goings added an RBI double in the first inning.
The two teams meet in the series finale tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Drysdale Field. The game will be the last regular season home game for three Flagler seniors. They will be honored before the game. The Saints host the Peach Belt Conference Tournament May 11-13.