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ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The Peach Belt Conference Tournament got off to a strong start for the 10^th-ranked Columbus State University baseball team, as the Cougars downed Flagler 2-0 on Friday evening. The tournament game was played at Flagler.
 
Kolton Ingram (11-3) was the star of the night, recording his third complete game and second shutout of the season. The southpaw held the Saints to just one hit, striking out 10.
 
Columbus State (39-11) is 1-0 now in the pool play portion of the tournament. The Cougars will take on USC Aiken at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and then Young Harris at 8:30 p.m. later in the evening. The top team from the pool will advance to Sunday's championship game.
 
"Kolton was in total control tonight," head coach Greg Appleton said. "He had good command of all his pitches and worked ahead in the count, and then we got a couple timely hits to get the job done."
 
Flagler's (30-21) best scoring chance came in the top of the very first inning. The Saints drew a leadoff walk and the runner moved to third with one out after a stolen base and errant throw. Ingram would buckle down though, getting a strikeout and groundout to put the first zero up.
 
The Cougars would capitalize on the momentum, as Chase Brown launched a one-out solo home run to right field in the bottom half of the inning. The long ball was his third of the season, all coming in the last month.
 
It was Brown again in the third inning that added the second run to the board. Drew Webb led off the frame with a single and moved to second on Garrett Kirkwood's sacrifice bunt. Brown then singled through the right side, bringing Webb to the plate to double the lead.
 
The rest of the game belonged to Ingram, who allowed his lone hit with two outs in the fourth. The junior has two separate stretches where he retired 11 in a row, allowing just one runner to reach second base after the first.
 
The Cougars tallied just five hits on the night, but the two runs were more than enough for Ingram, who moved into a tie for the Peach Belt Conference lead in wins.