ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — In the final game of the Old Coast Classic Sunday, the Flagler College softball team's come-from-behind rally came up short in a 9-6 loss to Newberry College at Flagler Field.
The Saints finished their five-game tournament slate behind a 4-1 record, including a pair of walk-off wins, to improve to 6-4 overall as the Wolves went 1-3 to move to 7-3.
Down 8-2 in the fifth inning,
Mercedes Salinas ripped a two-out, first-pitch grand slam to left center — scoring
Valerie Beltre (walk),
Kyleigh Taylor (single) and
Alyssa Velez (single) — for her second home run in as many days to get her team back within two. The pair of home runs marked her first blasts in a Flagler uniform and they currently won't be her last. The Saints put two on in the seventh to threaten yet another walk-off win, but were unable to connect.
After two scoreless innings, Newberry spotted back-to-back, three-run innings in the third and fourth frames, respectively, compared to just one apiece in those for the home team. Of those six runs within two innings, just three with earned against freshman
Rachel Hester (L, 1-3) as a pair of defensive errors led to the Wolves' lead they would never lose. The Saints used three pitchers, with
Madelyn Wise allowing three runs on four hits through 2.1 innings and
Taylor Scott throwing an unblemished 1.1 inning to keep Flagler in it late.
Hailey Hill led all players with three hits, including five RBI and two runs scored, as Velez was the lone Saint with two hits. Maseda,
Ari Bosch,
Madelyn Childs, Taylor and Salinas all contributed to Flagler's seven hits.
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