GREENWOOD, S.C. – Flagler College scored six runs in the first two innings and held the lead throughout, but had to withstand a rally by the regular-season champion, Lander University, 8-6, in the winners' bracket game of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Saturday afternoon at Stephen B. Dolny Stadium.
Flagler won its fifth game in a row and improved to 28-22 overall. The Saints have won 11-of-their-last-13 games. Flagler is now in the driver's seat in the tournament and will have to be defeated twice by one of the remaining three teams. Due to the rain earlier today, the schedule had to be modified. The Saints will play tomorrow at a time to be determined. Lander dropped to 38-14 overall and will face the winner of tonight's elimination game between USC Aiken and Georgia Southwestern State University.
The Saints started a day with a two-out rally in the first inning.
Jesse Sullivan got things started by drawing a walk and
Taylor Clapp followed with a single.
Payton Palladino's base hit through the right side scored Sullivan.
Luke Welborn belted a three-run home run to right field to stake Flagler to a 4-0 lead.
Flagler continued to apply the pressure in the second.
Matthew Burke led off the frame with a double and took third on a ground out.
Trey Newland's single up the middle scored Burke. A balk moved Newland to second base who then scored on a base hit by Sullivan and the Saints led 6-0.
The Bearcats got a run back in the bottom of the third, but the Saints answered in the top of the fourth.
Mason Gray hit a one-out double down the left field line and was driven home on Sullivan's single to left.
Lander cut it to 7-4 with two runs in the fourth and one more in the sixth.
The insurance run came in the eighth as
Donovan Garcia hit a lead-off single and then advanced a base on two wild pitches. He scored on
Bryce Fitzgerald's sacrifice fly.
Cooper Smith (8-4) tossed a complete game as he allowed four earned runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts. He gave the Saints' bullpen much-needed rest after having 10 pitchers work in yesterday's 15-inning game. Smith induced 13 fly outs and five ground outs while throwing 120 pitches.
Sullivan had a pair of run-scoring singles and also scored a run for Flagler. Burke went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored while Newland collected two singles, scored a run, and drove in another.
Ethan Califf (3-3) surrendered eight runs on 11 hits in eight innings for Lander. He walked three and fanned five.
Ethan Wilder finished with two singles and scored two runs while Connor Droze went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and scored two runs.
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