ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Dominate.
 
That's the word that sums up the Flagler College softball's Peach Belt Conference opening doubleheader versus USC Aiken Sunday afternoon, where the Saints left Flagler Field with a pair of shutout, 1-0 and 8-0, victories to stay hot.
 
The PBC sweep made for Flagler's seventh straight victory with the night cap taking the Saints (18-6, 2-0 PBC) just five innings to do it.
 
In game one, Kyra Gipson (W, 11-3) was throwing heat as she tossed the complete-game shutout, allowing just two hits while striking out six. Over the last two starts, the senior hasn't surrendered a run and has allowed only nine hits, two walks, and on top of her eight strikeouts.
 
The consistency is paying dividends for Flagler as she held USC Aiken (15-7, 0-2) scoreless and her offense took care of business in the bottom of the fifth.  It was Alyssa Velez who drew a leadoff, four-pitch walk to put herself in position for Brittney Rayfield's bunt.  The slow roller allowed Rayfield to not only reach base but to take second when Velez whipped through second and into third, stealing the base while the Pacers were slow to react.

"Alyssa's hustle was key in our win in game one," Flagler head coach Kathryn Geouge said. "We had runners in scoring position in earlier innings and just couldn't push them across, and Alyssa really made stuff happen that inning!"

In the next at-bat, Genevieve Mangini hit a sacrifice fly just deep enough to the second baseman, allowing Velez to tag up and slide safely into home as the ball rolled away. It was the only run the Saints would need to secure the game one victory over Pacer ace Caroline Cockrell (L, 10-3).
 
Madelyn Wise (W, 7-2) snagged her second victory of the week, and while she had some bumpy innings with hit batters and a few walks, the freshman continued to put it behind her.  In all, Wise allowed just two hits over five innings to shutout USC Aiken and has surrendered five hits on two runs over the last pair of starts, which mirrors her 0.58 ERA this week.
 
Wise couldn't have asked for a better supporting cast as Paige Maseda singled in NaJah Gerrald, who reached on an error and bounced back from a hitless game one with two hits, RBI, and runs scored. The early lead doubled in the second frame, thanks to one of Morgan Murphy's walks and Rayfield's RBI to put the Saints ahead, 2-0.
 
Flagler really got to the Pacers' pitcher Tracy Truesdale (3-3) in the fourth inning as the Saints smacked across six runs on four hits. A two-run double for Gerrald ended Truesdale's day, but Flagler kept it going versus the new pitcher Rebekah Cook. Mangini, who singled to load the bases for Gerrald, raced home on a Maseda sac bunt before Kyleigh Taylor smashed her fourth hit of the afternoon and third of the night cap, up and over the left-field wall to score Natalie Murphy — after she singled in the at-bat before — and complete the eight-run, run-rule sweep.

"I was extremely proud of our offense and their approach the second game," Geouge said. "They really focused in and got good results. Our pitching staff threw very well today and kept a very hard hitting Aiken team off balance."

Up Next: The Saints will travel to No. 19 Valdosta State University (16-5) for a Wednesday doubleheader, beginning at 4 p.m.
 
Be the first to know what's going on with the Saints -- Follow @FlaglerSports on Twitter, follow FlaglerSports on Instagram, become a fan of Flagler College Athletics on Facebook and subscribe to the Flagler College Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with Flagler Athletics.