LAKELAND--Southeastern University won their third straight game, Wednesday night, defeating Mount Vernon Nazarene, 9-5, behind the bats of Shane Casey and Vinny Caesar.
It was Support the Troops Night at Ted Broer Stadium, as the SEU Baseball program honored former Fire player, Frank Gross, with a moment of silence before the game. Gross was killed while serving a tour in Afghanistan last year.
Southeastern jumped out to a 4-0 lead after scoring two runs in both the first and second innings. Three straight doubles by Casey, Kevin Kunnen, and Daniel Mims sparked a two-out rally in the first inning while a two-run double by Caesar highlighted the Fire's scoring in the second inning.Â
Josh Roberts finally put the Cougars on the board with a solo home run in the fourth inning. Then, the Cougars tied the score with three runs in the fifth, while reliever Cameron Juhasz cooled off the Fire bats.
Southeastern regained the lead with a two out rally in the sixth inning. After Juhasz retired the first two batters of the inning, Brandon DeRespiris began the rally with an infield single. Billy Glessner followed with a double to leftfield, and Caesar then drew a walk to load the bases. Casey helped the Fire finally solve Juhasz, by hitting a ball over the bag at first base that scored DeRespiris and Glessner, as Casey ended up at second base with a two-run double.
The Fire added three insurance runs in the eighth, as Caesar knocked home DeRespiris and Glessner on a triple to left-centerfield. Casey then followed with a double to right-center to plate Caesar, extending the Fire's lead to 9-4.
Phillip Kish came in to pitch the ninth inning, and allowed one unearned run on one hit, with two strikeouts.
SEU starting pitcher, Johnnie Kirkland, picked up the victory on the hill. Kirkland pitched six innings and surrendered four earned runs on nine hits with four punch outs.
Michael Barrett pitched a perfect seventh inning with two strikeouts.
Casey finished 4-for-5 with three doubles, a run, and three RBIs. Caesar was equally impressive, ending 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, a run, and four RBIs.
DeRespiris celebrated a great day at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Glessner chipped in with two runs, a hit, and a stolen base. He also pitched a scoreless eighth inning, allowing just one hit with a strikeout.
Mims went 2-for-5 with a double and a RBI.
Mount Vernon Nazarene falls to 10-8 on the year while Southeastern improves to 20-14.
SEU will host Ave Maria University this upcoming weekend for an important three game conference series. Game one will be on Friday evening, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
