ST. AUGUSTINE – Flagler College pounded out 31 hits and scored 26 runs to earn a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader split with Young Harris College Saturday at Drysdale Field. Flagler lost the opener 9-8 in 11 innings, but won big in the nightcap 18-4.
Flagler moves its record to 16-15 overall and 10-7 in the Peach Belt. Young Harris is now 18-10 overall and 7-5 in conference play.
The Saints entered the doubleheader batting .270 as a team. Flagler hit .348 in the doubleheader alone.
In the second game, the Saints took advantage of 11 walks, four wild pitches, and a couple of hit batters to go along with 17 hits in the 18-4 triumph. Flagler was held without a run in the second and eighth innings.
Young Harris starter Dylan Gibeau ran into early control problems as he walked three-of-the-five batters he faced in the first inning. His bases loaded walk to
Sean Lawlor spelled the end of the day for Gibeau.
The Mountain Lions tied the game at 3-all on a sacrifice fly in the third, but the Saints answered with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
Jimmy Peck hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the third off Young Harris reliever Dylan Nix (3-1).
Nix was tagged with the loss after surrendering two earned runs on five hits in 2 1/3 innings.
The Saints sent nine men to the plate in consecutive innings, the fourth and fifth.
Robert Girgis (6-0) remained perfect on the season as he tossed six innings and struck out a season-high 10 batters. Girgis allowed three earned runs on five hits.
Four Saints pitchers combined to strike out a season-high 18 batters.
Peck went 3-for-5 with a home run and five runs batted in.
Steven DiPuglia collected three singles, scored a career-best four runs, and drove in two runs. Lawlor went 3-for-4 with two doubles, four runs scored and he knocked in a run.
Dahlton Cash led the Mountain Lions with a pair of singles and he scored a run.
In the first game, Young Harris held a 7-3 lead through 6 ½ innings, but Flagler tallied a run in the seventh and three more in the eighth to tie the game at 7.
Aaron Anderson hit a two-run single to knot the game.
Cole Jackson hit an RBI double in the top of the ninth, but
Ja'Kobi Dasher hit a ringing single into the right-center gap to score Lawlor from third, but DiPuglia was thrown out at home plate trying to score the game-winning run and YHC reliever MacLain Harris got the final out of the inning.
Neither team could get anything going in the 10
th and the Saints brought in closer
Ethan Jones (0-4) to keep the Mountain Lions off the board in the 11
th.
Cash led off the inning with an infield single. T.J Byrd came in to run for Cash at first base. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and Jackson worked a 3-0 count. He was intentionally walked and Tyler Washington laced a single to left field to score Byrd with the go-ahead run. Jones struck out the next three batters.
The Saints got the lead-off hitter on in the bottom half of the inning, but Matt Rogers (1-0) retired the next three hitters to earn the win. He allowed just one hit in two innings of relief work.
Brett Hawkins collected four singles and drove in a run for Young Harris. Cash also had four singles, drove in two runs, and scored another. Jackson went 3-for-5 with two doubles, three RBI, and he scored two runs.
DiPuglia led the Saints with three singles and two runs scored.
Frankie Martello hit a pair of doubles, scored two runs, and dove in another.
The same two teams meet in the rubber game tomorrow (March 24) at noon at Drysdale Field.
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