ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The University of North Georgia baseball team failed to hold off Flagler in an 11-inning, 6-5 loss Friday night. Setting the loss aside, the Nighthawks are proving to be one of the better comeback teams in the nation after rallying in the ninth inning to force extras in St. Augustine, Fla.
The Saints took an early 2-0 lead after scoring single runs in the second and fourth innings before UNG powerfully tied the game in the top of the fifth.
With one out in the inning, sophomore second baseman Brady Skipper belted his fifth home run of the season over the left field wall to get his team on the board.
Two batters later, junior outfielder Josh Sosa bashed his second home run in as many games to tie the contest at 2-2.
Sosa has seen his role increase of late after injuries handicapped the Nighthawk lineup for head coach Tom Cantrell. He's made the most of his bump in playing time with three home runs, 11 RBI and a .296 batting average in the month of April. He followed a career-high 5 RBI performance on Wednesday against Emmanuel with a 2-for-4, one home run, one RBI day at the plate against Flagler.
The Saints didn't leave the game tied for long, putting up a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run homer from freshman catcher Jesse Sullivan.
The two-run advantage for Flagler would hold all the way until UNG was down to its final out in the top of the ninth.
After a lead off double from freshman outfielder Noah Darden and a walk to junior shortstop Riley Frost, sophomore Saints pitcher Blake Pesante recorded a pair of strikeouts to nearly close the game.
However, the Nighthawks rallied beginning with a base hit from Skipper to bring home Darden and make it 4-3. Sophomore utility player Edwin Bowman IV followed with another single, this time bringing home both Frost and Skipper to give UNG a 5-4 lead.
In the last of the ninth, junior infielder Taylor Clapp served as a lead off base runner for Flagler after a single. A ground out from Sullivan moved the runner over for redshirt freshman infielder Payton Palladino who singled to tie the game.
Redshirt junior lefty Zach Green was able to get out of the inning and force extras.
Unfortunately, the Nighthawks did not record a hit in the two extra frames unlike the Saints who won the game with a walk off single from senior Matthew Burke in the 11th.
The two teams will meet two more times in St. Augustine to close out the series, starting tomorrow, Saturday, Apr. 13 with a 2 p.m. game. The series finale commences on Sunday, Apr. 14 at noon.
