ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – In a close game that went down to the wire, the No. 22 Lander baseball team fell to the Flagler Saints 6-5 on a walk-off single.

Lander drops to 7-3 overall and 4-2 in the PBC while Flagler advances to 4-7 overall and 3-3 in the PBC.

The Bearcats struck first in the top of the first. After a single from junior Walker McDowell, a double from senior Roury Glanton and a walk from grad student Mike Fitschen to load the bases; senior Ward Betts drew out a walk to score the first run of the game. The Saints responded with two runs of their own. The first of which came around on a throwing error while the second scored on a groundout to second to put Flagler up 2-1.

The very next inning saw the Bearcats plate three more runs to put them back on top. With runners on first and second off a pair of singles from junior Mason Streater and McDowell, Glanton struck a hard single to left field to score McDowell. Later that inning sophomore Landon Dupert singled to right field to score two more runs to make it a 4-2 ball game for Lander.

Flagler inched closer in the third after a sac fly brought a run home for the saints while both sides scored runs in the fifth. Both Lander and Flagler used the long ball to get runs, with Dupert clearing deep center and the Saints sending a two-run blast over the right field fence to make it a tie 5-5 game.

Neither side was able to score again until the bottom of the ninth when the Saints singled with the bases loaded to win 6-5 over the Bearcats.

Redshirt senior Praise Thorsen was given the loss after coming in to pitch the ninth inning. Thorsen is now 1-2 on the year.

Lander and Flagler conclude the series tomorrow with a doubleheader set to begin at 12 pm.

#cLawsUp | @LanderBaseball