Related: Hit Parade Helps Baseball Clinch Series With Flagler
PEMBROKE – Nick Oberg's 3-run shot in the top of the third helped Flagler stake claim to an early 7-2 lead, and the Saints fended off a late rally by the UNC Pembroke baseball team and avoided a weekend sweep with an 8-6 win over the Braves on Sunday afternoon at Sammy Cox Field.
UNCP (12-5, 3-3 PBC) registered double digits in the hit column for the fourth-straight game, but stranded nine on the base paths and hit just 6-for-21 with runners on base in the contest. It was just the second road win of the series for the Saints (8-9, 3-6) who improved to 2-10 in Pembroke.
Justin Dattilo tallied four hits for the second time in four games, and closed out his Sunday performance with three runs scored on a 4-for-5 hitting line. Stibel Aleman Saba drove in three runs on a 2-for-4 tally, while Christian Snider turned in a 2-for-5 day at the plate.
Oberg (2-for-5), who went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts through the first two games of the series, was one of five Saints with multi-hit showings on the day. Bryce Evans doubled twice on a 2-for-5 hitting line, while Dylan Jones paced Flagler by plating three runs and scoring twice on a 3-for-5 performance.
Starter Logan Cook (2-2) was tagged with the loss for the hosts after surrendering eight runs (seven earned) on 10 hits in 4-2/3 innings of work, while also striking out three. Michael Maiocco (2-1) earned the win in relief for the visitors after striking out four and allowing just a lone earned run in two innings of work, while Jeremy Graf collected his third save of the season despite giving up two earned runs in three innings from the hill.
Flagler plated a pair of runs in the first and one more in the second to build a quick 3-1 advantage, but padded that lead out to five runs on Oberg's 3-run job in the third. UNCP cut into the lead on a Snider RBI single and a wild pitch in the bottom of the frame, but the Saints answered with consecutive two-out RBI singles in the fifth to regain a five-run advantage.
C.J. White walked to begin the sixth and later scored on a passed ball to get the hosts to within four, and the Black & Gold had all the makings of a rally in the ninth after Aleman Saba drove in two runs on a single up the middle, but Graf slammed the door on the comeback with a strike out and a routine grounder to the left side.
The Braves will continue a five-game homestand on Tuesday when they face U.S. 74 rival Wingate (13-7) at Sammy Cox Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
