WINTER HAVEN, Fla.—The Fire baseball team secured its 13
th straight win to open the season with a 9-4 win over Thomas University Friday night.
At the plate, the SEU hitters got starting pitcher
Kade Wagner a 3-1 lead through three innings on RBI singles by
Alex Stephens and
Angel Garced, and an RBI groundout by
Mike D'Acunti.
In the fourth,
Luke Maher coaxed a two-out walk, which was followed by a
Marcus Guzman double.
Luis Diaz then drove a 1-2 pitch over the left-center field wall to give the Fire a 6-1 lead. The homer was the second of the season for the senior, and brought his season RBI total to 20.
The Night Hawks were able to answer with a two-out, three run double in the top of the sixth to make it a two-run game, and TU pitcher Jordan Martin retired nine straight following the Diaz homer.
Stephens broke that run with a two-out towering home run in the seventh to left field to take a 7-4 advantage.
Southeastern tacked on two in the eighth when Kianalu Pitoy and
De'John Suber scored on a Guzman single to center.
Wagner improved to 3-0 with the Fire, throwing 6.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits, walked two, and struck out seven.
Oscar Sandoval retired the first seven batters he saw, before allowing a pair of two-out hits in the ninth, and finished with five strikeouts.
The two teams will face off in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
