ST. AUGUSTINE – The University of South Carolina Aiken scored six runs in the last three innings to rally past Flagler College, 8-4, in a Peach Belt Conference baseball game Sunday afternoon on "Senior Day" at Drysdale Field.
USC Aiken improved to 31-17 overall and finish with a 22-8 record in the PBC. The Pacers will be the No. 2 seed in the PBC Tournament, May 11-13, in St. Augustine. Flagler wraps up its regular season with a 30-20 overall record and a 16-14 mark in conference play. The Saints will either be the No. 5 or 6 seed depending upon the results of the last conference series next weekend between North Georgia and Columbus State.
Flagler held a 4-2 lead going into the seventh inning, but an RBI single by Daulton Weeks cut the Saints lead to one.
Nile Goings led off the eighth inning with a home run, his second of the day, over the left-center field wall to tie the game. Two batters later,
Ethan Jones (5-3) came in for relief. He hit the first batter he saw and then walked Philip Watcher. Jones did pick off Joey Smithers, who had wandered too far off second base, but Watcher was able to take second on the lengthy rundown. Brady O'Neil singled through the hole at shortstop, which gave Watcher enough time to score and give the Pacers a 5-4 lead.
Jose Bonilla led off the ninth with a solo home run and the Pacers tacked on two more runs for further insurance.
Garvin Alston, Jr. (1-0) picked up the win in relief as he tossed two scoreless innings. He did not allow a hit and struck out a batter. Hunter Shuff closed the door two earn a two-inning save, his second of the year. He fanned two and walked two. Shuff did not allow a run or a hit.
Goings hit two solo homers for the Pacers. Bonilla went 2-for-5 with a home run and Weeks collected two singles, scored two runs and drove in another.
Jones took the loss in relief for the Saints. He tossed two-thirds of an inning and allowed three earned runs on three hits. Jones walked two batters and hit another.
Louis Pugliese, one of the Flagler seniors honored before the game, started and allowed three runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings of work. He walked four and struck out four.
Nick Martinez and
Ryan Ashworth pitched in relief.
Dillon Reed collected three hits for the Saints. He scored two runs and had one run batted in.
Ethan Crout, another senior, went 2-for-5 with a triple and he scored a run.
Aaron Anderson singled twice and scored a run. Jones hit a two-run double in the third inning to give the Saints a 2-1 lead. Flagler's other senior,
Frankie Martello, hit a single along with a sacrifice hit and he drove in a run.
Flagler stranded 11 runners on base, seven of those with runners in scoring position. The Saints were held to a .200 batting average (3-for-15) with runners in scoring position.
Flagler hosts the eight-team Peach Belt Conference Tournament, May 11-13. All games on May 11 will be played at Drysdale Field. On May 12, the field splits in two as half of the bracket will remain at Drysdale Field while the other half will play their games at Tindall Field in Palatka, Florida at St. Johns River State College. May 13 is the date of the championship game at Drysdale Field. The bracket will be released next Sunday (May 6).
