Marquis Johnson Struck Out Eight And Walked None In Six Innings To Up His Pitching Record To 3-0

Baseball 2/18/2018 10:20:00 PM Office of Sports Information

SAU Baseball Rallies In Both Games To Sweep Benedict

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

CARY, N.C. (Feb. 18) – Saint Augustine's University rallied from a 3-0 deficit in both games to sweep Benedict College 8-6 and 4-3 in a baseball doubleheader at the USA Baseball National Training Complex on Sunday.

The Falcons, winners of five consecutive games, improved to 6-1 overall which is their best start in recent memory. They look to continue their streak Monday, Feb. 19, against Benedict in a doubleheader at Tiger Field in Columbia, S.C. The starting times are 1 p.m. and approximately 3:30 p.m.

After falling behind in the opener, the Falcons erupted for five runs in the third inning for a 5-3 lead. RBIs by Cody Harris (Jr./Lumberton, NC), Ruben Pinero (R-Sr./Bronx, NY), Johnathan Sierra (Jr./Raleigh, NC) and Carson Davis (Jr./Oakboro, NC) sparked the Falcons in the big inning.

The Tigers closed within one run in the top fourth, but the Falcons tacked on three runs in the bottom fourth for an 8-4 lead. The trio of Derrick Rabb, Jr. (Fr./Charlotte, NC), Hector Pichardo (Jr./Dominican Republic) and Harris each drove in a run to stretch the Falcons' lead to four. Two runs by the Tigers in the seventh were not enough to derail the Falcons in the first game.

Harris led the Falcons with two RBIs on 1-for-2 hitting and Pichardo finished with an RBI and one run scored on 3-for-4 hitting including a double. Rabb and Stephon Hines (R-Fr./Coatesville, PA) each scored two runs with Hines collecting a double in the victory. Davis had a sacrifice fly and Harris had a sacrifice hit.

Marquis Johnson (Sr./Richmond, VA) pitched a superb game to raise his record to 3-0. He fired a four-hitter with eight strikeouts, no walks and two earned runs in six innings. Kilvio Garcia (Jr./Bronx, NY) threw two-thirds of the seventh inning for the save.

The second game was nearly a replica of the first as the Falcons fell behind by three runs early. They overcame the Tigers with another huge inning - this time four runs in the fourth - to take a 4-3 lead. An infield error and passed ball scored Sierra and Davis, respectively, and Brandon Bly (R-Jr./New Castle, DE) stole home for the third run. Harris singled in Nick Roets (Fr.) to put the Falcons ahead.

The one-run lead held up behind the pitching of Amilcar Yanez (Jr./Valencia, Venezuela) and Pichardo. Yanez tossed a three-hitter to gain his first win of the season. He allowed two earned runs, eight strikeouts and six walks in six innings. Pichardo finished off the Tigers in the seventh with two strikeouts and a groundout on three at-bats for the save.

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