CARY, NC – On Sunday, Feb. 5, Saint Augustine’s University rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the University of Virginia’s College at Wise 8-6 in the first game of a baseball doubleheader at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. The victory was the first of the season for the Falcons, who lost 3-1 in the second game.
In the first game, the Falcons trailed 6-2 after the Cavaliers scored four runs in the third inning but they responded with five runs in the same inning for a 7-6 lead. The Falcons scored their first two runs on a pair of double steals which scored Michael Keels (R-Sr./Manning, SC) and Corey Brassington (Sr./Raleigh, NC).
Three more runs crossed the plate on two errors on the same play. Johnathan Sierra (So./Raleigh, NC), Alexis Garcia (Sr./Maracaibo, Venezuela) and Hector Pichardo (So./Dominican Republic) all scored to put the Falcons ahead 7-6. Garcia added an RBI double to left centerfield in the fourth which scored Brassington.
Garcia had two RBIs for the Falcons including a groundout in the first inning which scored Brassington, who had three runs in the game. Keels, who had two runs, also scored in the inning when the Cavaliers unsuccessfully attempted to tag out Brassington at second base.
The Cavaliers (3-1 overall) tied the score 2-2 with two runs in the second inning. They scored four runs in the third inning for a 6-2 lead before the Falcons came back.
Collin Pippin (Fr./Garner, NC) allowed no runs and two hits in 3.1 innings for the win. Chris Ingram (Sr./Smithtown, NY) allowed no runs and no hits in 0.2 innings for the save.
In the second game, the Falcons (1-5 overall) tied the score 1-1 in the fifth inning when Sierra, who was 2-for-4 at the plate, ripped an RBI double up the middle to score Charles Lyons (So./Rockingham, NC). The score remained tied until the seventh inning when the Cavaliers scored two runs for a 3-1 lead. With one out in the bottom half of the seventh, Keels reached first base on an error but the Cavaliers got the final two outs.
The Falcons will face Claflin University in a four-game home and home series this weekend. Claflin will host the first two games in Orangeburg, S.C. on Saturday, Feb. 11 and both teams will play at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. on Sunday, Feb. 12. Game times are 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. both days.
