February 1, 2021
Baseball Beat by SCF in High-Scoring Affair, 13-9
Santa Fe College
0-0
9
State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota
0-0
13
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 13 | 2 |
|
|
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | X | 13 | 12 | 4 |
BRADENTON, Fla. - In blustery conditions, Santa Fe baseball and State College of Florida clashed in a meeting between two teams receiving votes in the NJCAA D1 Preseason Poll, and the Saints let a late lead slip away in a 13-9 defeat.
The Manatees put up three runs in the bottom of the second inning off Saints' starter Mitchell Gross, but the Saints quickly responded in their next at-bats to tie it up at 3-3.
Brett Madren led off the inning with a double then advanced to third on a groundout from Santiago Garavito. Armando Albert's single brought Madren in to score, then Albert came all the way from first to home after a Luis Rodriguez single and an error in the outfield. Rodriguez then accounted for the third run for the Saints in the frame, capitalizing on another error from the Manatees after Nick Herndon put the ball in play.
In the fourth inning, Santa Fe took their first lead of the game on a Garavito RBI single to plate Xavier Moronta.
The Saints' lead was extended to a 6-3 margin in the fifth inning, after Coy Phillips came through with a two-RBI single to bring around Herndon and Tyler Shelnut.
Gross, the freshman left-hander, had settled in on the mound and held State College of Florida off the scoreboard until the bottom half of the fifth, when the Manatees bats' forced the Saints into the bullpen and eventually manufactured three runs to knot the game up at 6-6.
The game wasn't tied for long, however, as SF had two timely two-out hits in the sixth. A Herndon single scored two, then in the next at-bat, Shelnut delivered a single of his own to bring the score to 9-6.
The lead dissipated in the bottom of the eighth inning though, as the game unraveled for the Saints' bullpen. The Manatees produced seven runs and then kept Santa Fe off the board in the top of the ninth to preserve the 13-9 outcome.
SF had 15 hits in the previous outing against St. Petersburg, and the bats continued to produce with 13 hits against the Manatees.
Every batter in the lineup notched at least one hit, led by Shelnut's 4-of-5 performance from the box with a double, a run scored, and an RBI. Phillips was 2-of-5 with two RBI, extending his hitting streak to seven games. Herndon led the Saints with three RBI.
Wiggs' Words
"It was a frustrating loss tonight," said Head Coach Johnny Wiggs. "Our hitters really battled and had some good at-bats, but we went scoreless in inning 7,8, and 9. We only gave up runs in three innings, but we gave up 3, 3, and 7 in those innings. We have to eliminate the big inning. We have to pitch better."
Up Next
The Saints will have a grudge match with St. Petersburg in the third matchup this season on Wednesday, Feb. 3. The game will be played at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater, Fla., and the first pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.