WINTER HAVEN, Fla.—The Southeastern University baseball team made it nine straight to open the 2017 season with a 16-0 and 6-1 win over Trinity Baptist on Tuesday.
The ninth straight win by the Fire is the most to start a season in program history.
Southeastern wasted little time in the first game getting the offense going with leadoff man
Luis Diaz hitting his first home run of the season on the second pitch he saw. Kianalu Pitoy doubled in
Alex Stephens, who also doubled in the first to give the Fire a 2-0 lead.
Diaz also came around to score in the second on a double by
Gerald Ceballos. Stephens drove in
Marcus Stump with a sacrifice fly, and a
Mike D'Acunti home run made it 5-0 through two.
The Fire pitching staff handled things from there with
Brandon Goff picking up the win, throwing four no-hit innings, striking out three.
Oscar Sandoval added a perfect inning in relief, and Gabriel Cox and
Derek Martin each dealt a scoreless frame.
The second double of the game by Ceballos plated three runs in the third, giving SEU an eight-run lead.
De'John Suber drove in two more with a single in the fourth, making it 10-0 in favor of the Fire.
In the fifth, the Fire added six runs on six hits, which included a two-run single to left by
Luke Maher.
Ceballos and Suber had three hits each, and Ceballos had a team best four RBIs. Diaz and D'Acunti had three runs scored each.
In the second contest, five Fire pitchers combined to scatter seven hits, allowed one run and one walk in the victory.
Josh Egert earned the win, throwing the first three frames allowing one run on four hits with two strikeouts.
Adrian Rivera,
Matt Matre,
Mike Ruppenthal, and
John Jaeger each had a scoreless inning of work.
At the plate,
Danny Acevedo's solo blast over the left field wall highlighted a four-run first for the Fire. An RBI single by
Jadan Garcia scored Diaz, and a double by
Marcus Stump brought Maher and
Aaron Sheaks in to score.
Southeastern added two more in the third, getting a run in when
Colby Wade was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and
Marcus Guzman scored on a wild pitch.
Sheaks was 2-for-2 in the second contest, and D'Acunti added a 2-for-3 effort.
The Fire will face their first Sun Conference test of the season on Friday at USC Beaufort.
