ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - The Georgia Southwestern State University baseball team was swept in a three-game Peach Belt Conference series at 25th-ranked Flagler College over the weekend. Flagler won the opener at Drysdale Field on Saturday, 5-3, followed with a 4-2 walk-off win in the doubleheader nightcap and closed out the series on Sunday with an 8-2 victory.
Andy Moore led GSW at the plate over the weekend with five hits. Jared Jones and Jason Baita collected four hits apiece and both were walked twice.
Starting pitcher Kyle Britt was phenomenal on the hill in Game 2 for the Hurricanes as he held the Saints to one run over eight innings.
GSW exits the weekend with a 3-15 overall record and an 0-12 mark in Peach Belt play. Flagler improved to 20-2 overall, 12-0 in the PBC.
The Hurricanes return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Auburn Montgomery (8-11) for a 5 p.m. non-conference game.
GAME 1: #25 FLAGLER 5, GSW 3
The Saints scored a run in each of the first four innings and took a 4-1 lead to the seventh.
Devin Shea walked to open the frame for GSW, Baita followed with a double and Kole Clark pulled the Hurricanes within two runs with a sacrifice fly to plate Shea. Jones singled through the right side on the Hurricanes next at bat to score Baita and advanced to second on a throwing error. Moore singled, following a Flagler pitching change, but Jones was held up at third. Jonathan Martin walked to load the bases with one out, GSW trailing 4-3, but that's as close as the Hurricanes could get. A strikeout and ground out snuffed the rally.
Flagler added an insurance run in the bottom half of the seventh.
Baita went 3-for-4 in the opener with a pair of doubles to lead the Hurricanes.
Starter Mitch Holloway (1-4) suffered the loss after five innings of work. Holloway allowed three earned runs, walked three and struck out two. A.J. Hayes tossed three innings of relief and held Flagler to one run. He walked one and struck out three.
GAME 2: #25 FLAGLER 4, GSW 2
The Hurricanes grabbed the early lead in the nightcap Saturday. Jones doubled down the left field line to score Baita in the first inning and, after ripping a double of his own in the second, Dakota Long eventually came around to cross the plate on a balk to put GSW ahead 2-0.
Britt pitched an outstanding game and put the Hurricanes in a position to pull off the upset. He retired the Saints in order twice over his eight innings on the mound, did not allow a man past second base except for the run that scored in the fourth on a sacrifice fly, walked only one and struck out two.
Despite the effort from Britt, GSW was haunted by a walk-off home run for the second time in three games. A three-run blast to right field by Flagler's Ethan Crout with one out ended the evening.
GAME 3: #25 FLAGLER 8, GSW 2
Long and Moore collected RBI singles in the second and eighth innings, respectively, to keep the Hurricanes within striking distance in the finale.
A two-out walk to Martin loaded the bases for GSW following Moore's single in the eighth, but the Hurricanes were unable to score and Flagler led 3-2 heading to the bottom half of the inning.
GSW starting pitcher Kyle Spinks had kept the Saints in check throughout, scattering three runs over the first seven innings, and the first two batters he faced in the eighth flew out. Spinks got the third batter of the eighth inning to swing at strike three in the dirt, but the ball bounced passed the catcher and allowed the Saints to get to first base and keep their at bat alive. The wheels fell off for GSW from there as Flagler scored five runs in the frame and put the game out of reach.
Moore was the lone GSW batter to collect multiple hits in Game 3. He finished 2-for-4 in the contest with a double.
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - The Georgia Southwestern State University baseball team was swept in a three-game Peach Belt Conference series at 25th-ranked Flagler College over the weekend. Flagler won the opener at Drysdale Field on Saturday, 5-3, followed with a 4-2 walk-off win in the doubleheader nightcap and closed out the series on Sunday with an 8-2 victory.
Andy Moore led GSW at the plate over the weekend with five hits. Jared Jones and Jason Baita collected four hits apiece and both were walked twice.
Starting pitcher Kyle Britt was phenominal on the hill in Game 2 for the Hurricanes as he held the Saints to one run over eight innings.
GSW exits the weekend with a 3-15 overall record and an 0-12 mark in Peach Belt play. Flagler improved to 20-2 overall, 12-0 in the PBC.
The Hurricanes resume action on Wednesday when they travel to Auburn Montgomery for a 5 p.m. non-conference game.
GAME 1: #25 FLAGLER 5, GSW 3
The Saints scored a run in each of the first four innings and took a 4-1 lead to the seventh.
Devin Shea walked to open the frame for GSW, Baita followed with a double and Kole Clark pulled the Hurricanes within two runs with a sacrifice fly to plate Shea. Jones singled through the right side on the Hurricanes next at bat to score Baita and advanced to second on a throwing error. Moore singled, following a Flagler pitching change, but Jones was held up at third. Jonathan Martin walked to load the bases with one out, GSW trailing 4-3, but that's as close as the Hurricanes could get. A strikeout and ground out snuffed the rally.
Flagler added an insurance run in the bottom half of the seventh.
Baita went 3-for-4 in the opener with a pair of doubles to lead the Hurricanes.
Starter Mitch Holloway (1-4) suffered the loss after five innings of work. Holloway allowed three earned runs, walked three and struck out two. A.J. Hayes tossed three innings of relief and held Flagler to one run. He walked one and struck out three.
GAME 2: #25 FLAGLER 4, GSW 2
The Hurricanes grabbed the early lead in the nightcap Saturday. Jones doubled down the left field line to score Baita in the first inning and, after ripping a double of his own in the second, Dakota Long eventually came around to cross the plate on a balk to put GSW ahead 2-0.
Britt pitched an outstanding game and put the Hurricanes in a position to pull off the upset. He retired the Saints in order twice over his eight innings on the mound, did not allow a man past second base except for the run that scored in the fourth on a sacrifice fly, walked only one and struck out two.
Despite the effort from Britt, GSW was haunted by a walk-off home run for the second time in three games. A three-run blast to right field by Flagler's Ethan Crout with one out ended the evening.
GAME 3: #25 FLAGLER 8, GSW 2
Starting pitching was superb for both sides through the first five innings of the finale. GSW finally broke the deadlock in the sixth. Baita opened the inning with a single, made his way to third on a Logan single and scored off a sacrifice fly by Moore.
North Georgia answered quickly in the bottom half of the inning. Andres Perez led off with a home run, his fourth of the series, and a pair of singles and two passed balls allowed the Nighthawks to take a 2-1 lead.
With Moore on base after a one-out single, Jones delivered his second blast of the series in the ninth, a two-run shot to center field, to put the Hurricanes ahead 3-2.
The leadoff man for North Georgia drew a walk in the bottom half of the inning and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Following a fly out, Perez was intentionally walked and Connor Corbitt proceeded to send a 1-2 pitch over the left field wall to end the ballgame.
GSW starting pitcher Kyle Spinks threw 5 2/3 innings, allowed two runs, walked five and struck out one before making way for Matt Hubbard (0-1), who threw the final three innings, held North Georgia to two hits, walked three and struck out three.
