CARY, N.C. – After dropping the first game 8-7 in eight innings, Saint Augustine's University regrouped to take the second game 5-3 against Claflin University in a non-conference baseball twinbill at USA Baseball Complex on Tuesday, March 26, 2013.

The Falcons (22-10 overall) have won 11 of their last 13 games heading into a CIAA showdown against two-time defending league champion Winston-Salem State University this weekend. The Falcons enter the three-game series leading the conference standings with a perfect 9-0 mark while the Rams are second at 8-1.

The Falcons and Rams will battle for first place starting Saturday, March 30, 2013, at Optimist Park in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. The teams will meet again Sunday, March 31, 2013, at Optimist Park beginning at 3 p.m.

St. Aug Head Coach Charles Whitaker says the Falcons will need to step it up against the Rams in order to stay atop the league standings.

“I was disappointed in our performance [against Claflin],” Whitaker said. “If we want to stay in first place, we have to play a lot better than we did today.”

The Falcons will enter the series against the Rams with some momentum after beating Claflin in the second game on Tuesday. The Falcons scored two runs in the fifth inning to break a 3-3 tie and then held off the Panthers in the final two innings for the victory. Daveed Todd (Sr./Chicago, Ill.) went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run to lead the Falcons. Jeremy Wilkins (Sr./Smithfield, N.C.) and Pat Hall (Sr./Virginia Beach, Va.) each added an RBI.

After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning, the Falcons scored three runs in the third to take a one-run lead. Jason Baytop (Fr./Manchester, Md.) scored when Ariel Polanco (Sr./Harlem, N.Y.) reached base on an error, and Bobby Delly (Fr./Sumter, S.C.) scored from third base on a double steal. Todd put the Falcons ahead on a double to right field which scored Polanco.

The Panthers tied the game 3-3 in the fourth, but the Falcons scored two runs in the fifth to lead for good. Wilkins hit a sacrifice fly to right field which scored Todd, and Hall's RBI single scored Sterling James (So./New Castle, Del.), who reached base on a double. Winning pitcher Alex Edwards (Jr./Chicago, Ill.) scattered four hits in five innings to improve to 2-0 on the season. John Hailey (Sr./Rockingham, N.C.), who is tied for the CIAA lead with five pitching wins, picked up the save after holding the Panthers scoreless the last two innings.

In the first game, the Falcons started slowly but rallied in the seventh with four runs before falling in the eighth. The trio of Polanco, Todd and Clarence Peace (Jr./Rockingham, N.C.), the CIAA co-offensive player of the week, each tallied two RBIs with Polanco and Peace both going 2-for-4 at the plate. Wilkins led the Falcons with two runs scored and was 2-for-2 hitting while Calvin Butcher (Jr./New Castle, Del.) added two hits and a run.

Peace doubled in Wilkins to tie the game at 1-1 in the second inning. The Panthers scored four runs in the third inning for a 5-1 lead, but the Falcons scored once in the fourth and fifth innings to cut their deficit to two runs. Peace hit another RBI double which scored Wilkins in the fourth, and Chris Rogers (Sr./Chicago, Ill.) stole home on a double steal in the fifth inning.

The Panthers appeared to put the game out of reach with two runs in the seventh for a 7-3 lead, but the Falcons came roaring back in the bottom half of the inning with four runs to tie the game. Polanco hit a two-run single to score Joshua Easter (Jr./Chicago, Ill.) and Butcher, and Todd followed with a two-run single to score Delly and Polanco. With Wilkins and Todd on first and second base, respectively, the Falcons were in position to win, but Peace was called out on a third strike when he was hit by a pitch. The umpires determined that Peace swung the bat while falling down from being hit. His strikeout ended the inning. The Panthers won when they scored one run in the top of the eighth and the Falcons failed to score in the bottom eighth.

But the Falcons bounced back with a win to earn a split. The Falcons won three of four games against Claflin this season.