LAKELAND, Fla.—Trailing 8-1 heading to the bottom of the fifth against one of the top pitchers in The Sun Conference, winning a 14
th straight game was the furthest thing from the minds of the Fire baseball players.
However, Southeastern rallied to take a 9-8 lead after seven before ultimately dropping an 11-10 game to the fifth-ranked Sand Sharks of USC Beaufort.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Fire scored on an RBI single by
Angel Garced, and a sacrifice fly by
Derek Martin to make it 8-3.
The Fire erupted for four runs in the sixth, getting things going with one of
Luis Diaz's three doubles on the night.
Sean Anderson drove in a pair of runs with a double, then the Fire took advantage of a pair of USCB miscues on defense, getting an extra base runner on a fielding error, and plating two more on a throwing error, bringing the Fire within a run.
In the bottom of the seventh, another double by Diaz, who finished the night 5-for-5, brought in
Chris Mattison to tie the game. Diaz gave the Fire their first lead of the night on a sacrifice fly.
The first-place Sand Sharks tied the game in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by Brandon Joyce, then took a two-run lead in the top of the ninth on an error, and an RBI single by Thomas Estopare, who was 4-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs.
Southeastern had the bases loaded with no outs, down a run, following an RBI single by Diaz.
Marcus Guzman grounded into a double play, and a groundout to short by Garced ended the night.
The two teams will face off in the NAIA Network Game of the Week, with a doubleheader beginning Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
