ST. AUGUSTINE –
Bryce Fitzgerald belted a grand slam, his first home run of his brief career, in Flagler College's six-run third inning in a 7-4 win over Lander University in a Peach Belt Conference baseball game Sunday afternoon at Drysdale Field.
Flagler won the series and improved to 13-27 overall and 9-15 in the Peach Belt. Lander dropped to 18-24 overall and 12-12 in league play.
The Saints got on the board first after a
Justin Haskins single to right-center scored
Trey Newland from second base.
Matthew Burke followed with a run-scoring single to left field to stake Flagler to a 2-0 lead. After
Coy Phillips was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Fitzgerald greeted Lander reliever Matthew Ellis with a blast to left field. Those were the sophomore's first runs batted in of his career with the Crimson and Gold.
The Bearcats scored two runs in the fifth and eighth innings.
Flagler got an insurance run, thanks to a wild pitch, in the seventh.
Seth Wysocki (3-2) allowed two runs on five hits in five innings of work. He walked two and fanned two. Wysocki retired the first 9-of-11 batters he faced.
Gabriel Partridge tossed a scoreless 1.1 innings to earn his third save of the season.
Newland went 2-for-4 with a double and he scored a run while Burke collected two singles, scored a run, and drove in another.
Bennett Nance (1-1) surrendered five runs on six hits in 2.2 innings to get the loss for Lander. He struck out five batters, including four of the first five batters he faced.
Tyler Prell finished with two singles, and he scored a run.
Flagler hosts Edward Waters University on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Drysdale Field.
NOTE:
Griffin Garcia's stolen base in the sixth inning was the team's 67
th of the season, a NCAA Division II era record. The previous mark of 66 was established in 2013.
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