LAKELAND, Fla.—After surrendering the first run of the contest against Saint Xavier (Ill.) on Saturday, the Fire responded with 19 unanswered to improve to 19-1 on the season.
In the home half of the first, a triple by
Alex Stephens that scored
Gerald Ceballos got the offense started for Southeastern. Stephens, who finished the day 3-for-4 with 2 RBI, came into score later in the inning.
After a
Luis Diaz 2-run homer gave the Fire a 4-1 advantage, Southeastern was held until the bottom of the fourth, where a majority of their damage was done. The Fire exploded for 11 runs in the inning on eight hits, which extended the lead to an overwhelming 14 runs. The inning was highlighted by a bases-clearing double by
Danny Acevedo. The senior from Miami, Fla. ended the game with 3 RBI and two runs scored. Diaz went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI, as well.
Offensively, the game was capped off by
Marcus Stump's 3-run homerun in the fifth inning followed by an opposite-field solo shot in the sixth by
Mike D'Acunti. Both players finished the contest tied for a team-high 3 RBI on the day.
Overall, the Cougars struggled to solve the Fire pitching staff, while Southeastern solved Saint Xavier's pitchers easily. Saint Xavier batted a mere .200, compared to Southeastern's .526 batting average, and struck out a combined thirteen times. Alex Neufield, who had two of the Cougars' five hits, came around to score the only run for the away team.
Pitching remained solid for the Fire throughout the course of the game.
Nate Harmon, who improved to 4-1 on the year, allowed only one run and averaged giving up a hit per inning in his five innings of work. In relief,
Adrian Rivera struck out two of the three batters he faced, while
John Jaeger fanned all three batters who came up to the plate in the seventh to close out the game.
The Fire will be back in action on Monday night, as they face St. Francis at 7:30pm.
