LAKELAND, Fla.—A big day at the plate and a dominant pitching performance moved Southeastern to .500 on the season with a 13-3 win over Avila in a five inning contest at Ted A. Broer Stadium.
Jace Hererra made his SEU debut, and put on a show, fanning six batters over four innings, allowing just one base runner on a hit by pitch.
Chris Mattison gave Hererra an early advantage with a 3-run home run on the first pitch he saw, lacing the ball high over the center field fence.
The Fire sent 15 men to the plate in the fourth inning, plating 10 runs on eight hits to take a 13-0 lead.
Luis Diaz started the inning with a single to right field, which was followed by a 2-run home run over the left field wall by
Danny Acevedo.
Mike D'Acunti drove in a pair of runs with an RBI single to right. Acevedo drove in three more runs on a double to right field.
A double by
Sean Anderson brought in Acevedo, and a double by Colon brought in Anderson to conclude the scoring.
The Fire bats totaled five doubles, and two home runs, scoring 13 runs on 12 hits, and benefitted from six Avila walks.
Constant rains forced the game to be concluded early, and the second game of the scheduled doubleheader to be pushed to Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m.
