ST. AUGUSTINE, FL– Flagler College scored 10 unanswered runs to erase an early 9-0 Francis Marion University lead as the Patriots fell to the Saints 10-9 in 10 innings, Saturday afternoon (May 7) in Peach Belt Conference baseball action.

FMU senior first baseman Randy Loew clubbed his first home run of the season and drove in a game-high four runs to pace FMU, which ends its season 26-23 overall and 13-17 in conference play. Flagler upped its record to 29-18 overall and 16-14 in PBC play.

The eight-team PBC tournament will be played on FMU's Cormell Field, Wednesday through Sunday (May 11-15).

All nine starters recorded at least one hit for the Patriots as the team tallied 17 hits. Loew finished 2-for-5 at the plate with a pair of runs scored, while sophomore second baseman Brooks Kennedy went a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate with one run batted in for FMU. Senior right fielder JD Crowe finished 3-for-5 at the dish with a double and three runs scored for the Patriots.

The game was the final contest for 12 FMU seniors.

Francis Marion found the scoring touch early and often against Saints starter Dustin Dye. The Patriots scored three times in the top of the first inning on four hits. The inning would be highlighted by a two-RBI single from junior catcher Logan Koch that stretched the FMU lead to 3-0.

FMU would strike for three more runs in the top of the second inning, chasing Dye from the game. Senior center fielder Shuler Ward crushed his fourth home run of the season to left field, upping the Patriot lead to 5-0. Later in the frame, Loew made it 6-0 with an RBI ground-out, scoring Crowe from third.

The Patriots would tag the Saints bullpen for three more runs in the top of the fourth. Kennedy made it 7-0 FMU with an RBI double down the left field line, and Loew with a towering home run to right field to up the margin to 9-0.

FMU senior right-hander Brandon Cook was able to keep the Saints off of the scoreboard until the bottom of the fifth frame, surrendering a solo home run to Flagler's Frankie Sagarese. Cook was handed a no-decision after allowing six earned runs on 10 hits in 5.2 innings. Junior righty Zach Callahan (0-3) was tagged with the loss for FMU after the winning run scored in the bottom of the 10th.

Trailing 9-1 in the sixth, Saint's first baseman James Jean doubled home a run against Cook to trim the gap to 9-2. Flagler tallied four more runs in the inning to pull within three runs at 9-6. The frame was highlighted by a two-run double from Saint's designated hitter Cole Ondrejka.

The Saints plated another run in the seventh inning when catcher Igor Baez took a 2-2 offering from junior righty John McGinty and laced it into right field for a double, allowing a run to score after a muffed throw by the Patriots' Kennedy. Trailing 9-7 in the eighth, third baseman Jabe Molinaro delivered a run-scoring single to right field, cutting the Patriot lead to just a single run. 

Flagler would chase freshman righty Cole Hinnant from the game in the bottom of the ninth. Hinnant issued a lead-off walk to second baseman Kolin McMillen followed by a single from Baez that allowed McMillen to advance to third. Callahan would be called upon to try and close-out the game for FMU, but after another walk and back-to-back fielder's choice ground-outs, Flagler would scratch across the tying run to knot the game at 9-9.

The Patriots would have no answer against Saint's reliever Jeremy Graf (2-2) in the top portion of the 10th as Graf retired FMU in order. The bottom half of the inning would start differently for Flagler as Dylan Jones delivered a lead-off triple against Callahan. The Patriots, trying to setup a force-out situation, would intentionally walk the next two batters for Flagler. With Baez at the plate and no outs, he hit an infield chopper that was not handled cleanly and that allowed Jones to score the winning run and complete the 10-9 come-from-behind victory.

Graf retired each of the six batters he faced over the final two innings to earn the win. Seven pitchers in-all appeared in the game for Flagler. Jones finished the game 3-for-6 in the lead-off sport for the Saints, while Baez went 3-for-6 at the plate. Sagarese, Molinaro, McMillen, and Jean each finished with two hits apiece for Flagler.