Box Score CARY, N.C. – Saint Augustine's University tallied a season-high 19 hits in an 11-10 non-conference baseball loss to Coker College at the USA Baseball National Training Complex on Monday evening, April 6, 2015.
Five players collected three hits apiece for the Falcons, who amassed 10 or more hits for the third straight game. The foursome of Jason Baytop (Jr./Manchester, MD), Alexis Garcia (Maracaibo, Venezuela), Tyson McDonald (Jr./Magee, MS) and Corey Brassington (So./Raleigh, NC) each were 3-for-5 from the plate while Roberto Rivera (Fr./Millville, NJ) was 3-for-4. Sterling James (Sr./New Castle, DE) and Joshua Bumgardner (Fr./Durham, NC) knocked in two runs apiece. Their hitting helped the Falcons build an early lead, but seven errors allowed Coker to come from behind for the win. The Falcons dropped to 13-17 overall and Coker improved to 14-22 overall.
The Falcons exploded to a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Timothy Carter (So./Lumberton, NC) scored Rivera on a double, and James scored Carter on a single. McDonald scored James on a single, and Brassington scored Garcia on a single. Bumgardner scored McDonald on a double. Coker scored two runs in the second inning and two runs in the top of the third inning to trim the score to 5-4. The Falcons added four runs in the bottom of the third to push their lead to 9-4. Garcia scored on a bases loaded walk to Bumgardner, and Baytop scored Brassington on a single. Bumgardner stole home and Rivera scored Baytop on a single.
Coker chipped away at its deficit with one run in the fifth inning and two runs in the sixth inning. Michael Orlowski scored the Cobras' second run in the top of the eighth inning on an infield error to tie the score at 9-9.
The Falcons regained the lead at 10-9 in the bottom of the eighth inning when James scored Baytop on a sacrifice fly. The Cobras inched ahead in the ninth inning with two runs for an 11-10 lead. Dustin Russell scored Jack Leech on a double, and Brady Bassford scored on an infield error for the Cobras, who finished with 12 hits.
The Falcons return to CIAA action this weekend. They will visit Virginia State University in a doubleheader at Whaley Colbert Field in Ettrick, Va., on Saturday, April 11, and Sunday, April 12. The game times are 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. both days.
