LAKELAND, FLA.-- The bats came alive and they struck early and often against a quality opponent. In a slugfest, Southeastern dismissed the #12 Bruins of Bellevue University in a 16-6 victory.
The scoring frenzy started in the bottom of the second with a
Baziel Cabrera RBI single that scored
Derek Martin, who doubled.
Southeastern struck for six runs in the third.
Chris Mattison got the ball rolling with a line drive off the left field fence for a stand-up double.
Mike D'Acunti followed with a towering 2-run home run ?to make it a 3-0 game.
Angel Garced, Martin, and
Diego Perez all hit singles to make it 4-0. After Cabrera walked,
Marcus Guzman drove in two with a triple. He later scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-0 after three.
The offense didn't stop in the fourth. D'Acunti hit his second homer of the night to make it 8-0. Perez followed later with an RBI double, and Guzman promptly drove in another two with a single to make it an 11-1 game.
On the pitching side,
Nate Harmon was effective through four innings until being run out of the game by Bellevue. The Bruins struck for five runs, even though only two of them were earned. The righty could only go 4.2 innings before
Jonathan Martin (1-0) came in relief to limit any further damage. Martin pitched 2.1 shutout innings while scattering three hits, striking out two, and walking one.
The Fire plated a couple more runs in the fifth; one of them came via wild throw, which allowed
Hunter Bonner to trot home from third. An RBI single by Martin drove in Garced to extend the Fire lead to 13-6.
Zach Hessinger drove in a run via RBI groundout in the sixth and drove in another with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Chris Mattison capped off game with an RBI single.
Josh Turner and
Dylan Jameson pitched the last two innings without giving up any more runs.
D'Acunti finished 2-4 with two homers, two runs, and three RBIs. Martin finished 4-5 with three runs scored and an RBI. Guzman also went 4-5 with three runs, four RBIs, and a pair of stolen bases. Perez went 2-4 with a run scored and a pair of RBIs. Garced and Mattison both recorded a pair of hits.?
The Fire are back in action on Tuesday; at 1 p.m., they'll host the University of St. Francis, and at 4 p.m., they'll face Spring Arbor University. Both games will be held at Broer Stadium.
