Box Score LAKELAND, FLA.– An implosion for the Southeastern pitching staff led to their doom Wednesday night in a loss to NCCA DII opponent St. Leo by a score of 13-4. With the loss, the Fire fall to 9-3 in the young season and the Lions improve to 10-1.
Cole Yoder (0-2) wasn't at his sharpest; he gave up singles to the first three hitters of the game which led to an early 3-0 deficit after half an inning of play. He gave up another run in the third and was then pulled.
Brandon Goff, Chase Hunt, FT Corso, and Dylan Jameson all pitched an inning each after Yoder was finished for the night. Aldo Ferrante, Josh Egert, Mike Ruppenthal, and Manny Matos pitched the final two innings of the game.
Walks have become a recurring problem for the Fire pitching staff; there were eight bases on balls and two HBP's given up by the pitchers.
There was a shortage of scoring opportunities for the Fire; the Fire were able to cash in a couple runs in the bottom of the second inning. The Fire applied some pressure to the Lions in the form of a double steal called with Luis Diaz on second base and Stetson McCollin on first; a throwing error by the St. Leo catcher and a bobble by the left fielder led to both runners scoring on the miscues to make it a 3-2 game still in favor of the Lions.
The Fire tacked on another two runs in the bottom of the ninth; a 2 RBI double off the bat of Cody Hoffner helped the Fire end on a pleasant note.
McCollin, Corbin Weeks, and Aaron Sheaks all had two hits each. Hoffner, McCollin, and Diaz each recorded a stolen bases.
Southeastern will put this game behind them as they prepare for a Sun Conference series against the Northwood University Seahawks. The first game in the series is set to begin at Broer Stadium Friday at 4pm.
