ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The ninth-ranked Columbus State baseball team won the rubber match of a three-game series 15-8 over Flagler College on Sunday to end the regular season on a high note.

CSU, who clinched the Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship and the top seed in next weekend's tournament earlier on Friday, ends the regular season with a 38-9 overall record and a 20-6 mark in PBC play. Flagler falls to 24-26 and 16-11 in conference play. FC also lost homefield advantage on Sunday. 

Columbus State got the scoring started in the second inning when Columbus had a barrage of singles. Matthew McDade, Connor Kirley, and Issac Bouton had back-to-back-to-back singles, all of which scored runs. Flagler quickly responded with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the second inning. The back-and-forth affair continued in the third inning when Derek Wylie hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Robert Brooks.

After the second inning, Colton Joyner found his groove on the bump as he went five strong innings, not allowing any more earned runs, while striking out three Saints.

Not much action happened for either team until the sixth inning when the Cougars scored five runs highlighted by a Robert Brooks triple, missing a home run by a matter of inches. 

FC responded by scoring five runs of their own. Hit batters played a larger part in the inning helping the Saints inch closer. Overall, 12 batters were plunked in the contest.

Columbus State was not done yet as the ninth inning proved fatal for the Saints as Steven Minter and Derek Wylie connected on two mammoth shots that left the ballpark. During the offensive attack which provided more than enough insurance, Leo Giannoni emerged from the bullpen firing darts as he earned his first save of the season throwing 2.2 innings, striking out three Saints.

UP NEXT
Columbus State will host the first round of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament starting this weekend at Ragsdale Field.