MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – Matthew Mebane hit a game-ending two-run home run to cap a three-run ninth inning as Georgia College & State University defeated Flagler College 5-4 to win the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship Series Friday afternoon at John Kurtz Field.
Georgia College improved to 34-20 overall and earned the PBC automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional. Flagler had its season come to an end at 29-24. Head coach Dave Barnett heads into retirement, after a hall of fame career, with 1,054 wins in 37 seasons at Flagler.
Flagler was in a must win situation in the best-of-three format having lost yesterday, 6-4. The Saints took the early lead with a three-run fourth inning.
Matthew Burke put the Saints on the board with an RBI-single to right-center field.
Bryce Fitzgerald followed with a two-run double to left-center.
Jesse Sullivan hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to stake the Saints to a 4-0 lead.
The Bobcats had been held to just three hits over seven innings by
Cooper Smith (8-5). In the eighth, Cam McNearney and Mason Poole hit back-to-back doubles. Two batters later, Gabriel Wuerth singled to center and GCSU tailed by two runs.
To start the bottom of the ninth, Braeden Smith hit a single to right and he went all the way to third on Brandon Bellflower's single to right field.
Cooper Smith tried to pickoff Braeden Smith at third base, but the throw was errant and allowed him to score. That's when Mebane worked a full count and hit a walk-off home run to left field.
Owen Thomas (2-2) picked up the win in relief as he pitched the ninth and allowed only a walk and he struck out a batter.
Smith collected a pair of singles and scored a run. McNearney went 2-for-4 with a double and he scored a run.
Smith went the distance on the mound for the Saints and allowed five runs on 10 hits to go along with seven strikeouts. He retired 21-of-the-first-24 batters he faced.
Sullivan went 2-for-4 with a home run.
The all-tournament team was Seth Nelson, Columbus State University; Colby Gordon, Georgia Southwestern State University;
Jesse Sullivan,
Cooper Smith, and
Matthew Burke, Flagler College; John Luke Glanton, Brendon Bellflower, and Mitch Cowan, GCSU. Tournament MVP: Matthew Mebane, GCSU.
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