LAKELAND, Fla.—The Fire baseball team is still in search of its first win in 2016 after a three game sweep at the hands of eighth-ranked Georgia Gwinnett.
The Fire dropped both games of Saturday's doubleheader 12-8 and 8-1, falling to 0-3 for the first time since 2011.
In the first game, Georgia Gwinnett sent 11 men to the plate and scored eight runs in the top of the seventh to cruise to a win. The Grizzlies totaled six hits and benefited from an error that inning. A 3-run home run by Brady Hamilton was the exclamation mark of the inning, putting the Grizzlies up 10-1. An additional run scored on the error.
Southeastern answered with four runs in the bottom of the seventh, two coming on a
Luis Diaz double to left. Diaz and
Danny Acevedo scored on a
Blaine Reed double.
Brandon Goff suffered the loss, working five innings and allowing two earned runs on seven hits, walking five and striking out four.
Errors were the theme of the second game, with the teams combining for five. The Grizzlies needed just five hits to score eight runs, benefiting from three SEU miscues.
Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth,
Zach Hessinger scored on a one-out groundout by Acevedo. Hessinger reached base on a bunt single for SEU's first hit of the day.
The Fire managed just four more hits the rest of the day, struggling against the GGC pitching, which totaled 12 strikeouts and didn't walk a batter in the game.
Andres Cancio suffered the loss, allowing a single hit in six innings of work, but walked four batters, and hit three others. The senior struck out four and coaxed nine groundouts.
Southeastern returns to action on Friday for a four-game set with Avila University.
