Hit Total Is Season-High For Falcons

RALEIGH, NC (April 17) – On Saturday, April 15, Saint Augustine's University amassed a season-high 22 hits in an 18-10 baseball victory over Bluefield State College at Hunnicutt Field in Princeton, W.Va. The Falcons fell in the second game 7-3.

Both Alexis Garcia (Sr./Maracaibo, Venezuela) and Timothy Carter (Sr./Lumberton, NC) led a hitting onslaught by the Falcons. Garcia was 4-for-4 with a home run, double, four RBIs and two runs scored and Carter was 2-for-3 with two doubles and four RBIs.

Ruben Pinero (R-Jr./Bronx, NY) and Carson Davis (So./Oakboro, NC) each added two RBIs and Pinero scored three runs. Collin Pippin (Fr./Garner, NC) was 2-for-3 with a double, triple and two runs scored and Corey Brassington (Sr./Raleigh, NC) was 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored. Chris Zavala (Fr./Fayetteville, NC) was 3-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored and Michael Keels (R-Sr./Manning, SC) had a triple, one RBI and two runs scored. Amilcar Yanez (So./Venezuela) scored two runs.

Chris Ingram (Sr./Smithtown, NY) picked up the pitching win for the Falcons. He struck out four and walked one in the victory.

The Falcons opened a 10-0 lead by the bottom of the second inning. In the first inning, Carter scored Brassington on a double and Pinero scored Yanez and Zavala on a two-run single. Garcia doubled home Pinero for a 4-0 lead.

In the second inning, Keels tripled home Pippin and Brassington singled home Keels for a 6-0 lead. Zavala scored Brassington on a single, Yanez scored on an infield error and Garcia singled home Zavala to expand the margin to 9-0. Davis singled home Pinero for the 10-run margin.

After Bluefield State scored two runs in the second inning, the Falcons gained more breathing room with five runs in the fourth inning. Garcia singled home Zavala, Davis scored Pinero on a sacrifice fly and Carter belted a bases-loaded three-run double to score Garcia, Keels and Brassington for a 15-2 lead.

Bluefield State trimmed the margin with three runs in the fifth. The Falcons scored one run in the sixth for a 16-5 lead when Corey Lyons (So./Rockingham, NC) scored on an infield error.

The Big Blues scored three runs in the sixth inning and the Falcons added their final two runs in the seventh when Garcia hit a solo homer over the left field wall and Tyquan Bryant (So./Henderson, NC) scored Pippin on a single for an 18-8 lead. The Big Blues scored twice in the seventh for the final score.

In the second game, the Falcons (18-27 overall) fell behind 3-0 in the first inning before scoring their first run in the second inning when Davis homered over the right field wall. They added another run in the third inning when Keels scored on a wild pitch and tied the score in the fifth inning when Carter tripled home Brassington.

The Big Blues (12-23 overall) regained the lead with four runs in the fifth inning. The 7-3 score held up the rest of the contest.

Carter was 3-of-4 with two triples and an RBI for the Falcons. Both Brassington and Keels were 2-for-3 with one run scored.

The Falcons will host CIAA leader Winston-Salem State University in their final CIAA series this season at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. A doubleheader is scheduled Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, April 23 starting at 1 p.m. both days.