Ethan Pringle, Staff Writer
Armstrong was swept in three games over the weekend by Peach State Conference rival, Flagler College. The Pirates fell to the Saints on Friday, 8-5. Saturday’s doubleheader proved twice as troublesome for the Pirates, losing game one, 12-4 and game two, 13-9.
Flagler improves to 22-14 overall and 10-11 in the Peach Belt with the wins, while Armstrong State falls to 15-22 overall and 6-18 in the league with the losses.
In Friday’s contest, the Pirates started off strong, tallying three runs in the third. The first run came from a Cody Sherlin solo-home run. Jerad Curry followed that when he smashed a two-run homer of his own, his tenth home run of the season.
After giving one run back in the bottom of the third, the Pirates then added to their lead in the fifth. Ryan Patterson belted a solo home run before the Saints conceded one more on a wild pitch. That would be the end of the Pirates run-scoring offense of the day. Flagler would answer with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth before surrendering a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth.
Flagler jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in game one of the Saturday double-header. The Pirates would cut the lead back down to one in the fourth inning with back to back solo jacks by Chandler Corey and Zack Goble. Flagler responded with four home runs of their own in the innings to follow, while the Pirates scored just two more runs, bringing the final to 12-4.
In game two of the double header, both teams would come out firing. Each team scored 4 runs in the first inning – the Pirates on a solo home run by Ryan Patterson, a two-run single by Berry Aldridge, and an RBI single by Goble.
Aldridge would deliver again with a two-run single in the second inning, giving the Pirates a 6-4 edge, but Flagler would hang seven on the scoreboard in the next four innings to take a commanding 11-6 lead. The Saints would hold onto that lead to seal the 13-9 victory and seal the weekend conference sweep.
Despite the loss, Berry Aldridge had a personal record setting day at the plate, going a perfect 5-5. The Pirates will face off against PBC opponent Georgia College in a three game series over a three-day stretch beginning Friday, April 15, with Senior Day taking place Saturday.
