LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 3 Southeastern University baseball team dropped its second straight Sun Conference series with the split of a Saturday doubleheader versus the No. 16 Keiser University Seahawks. The Fire fell short in a spirited 11-9 comeback attempt in game one before taking the second game 3-1 to avoid the sweep.
Southeastern and Keiser combined for 28 hits in game one.
Keiser set off the fireworks in the top of the second, scoring five runs on five hits. The Seahawks continued to fly in runners across home plate, finding themselves with a 9-1 advantage going into the bottom of the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Fire bats hit their stride, scoring four runs on three hits and an error. An RBI single by
Marcus Guzman scored
Mike D'Acunti to get things started. A double deep down the left field line by Kaianalu Pitoy scored
Derek Martin and
Danny Acevedo.
Pitoy was not finished trying to spark the Fire to victory yet. The Manoa, Hawaii native lifted a three run blast in the bottom of the seventh over the right field wall on a 2-1 count to cut the Seahawks' lead to 9-8. The home run was just his second of the season.
The Seahawks grabbed a pair of pivotal insurance runs in the top of the eighth and ninth frames. This was largely due thanks to a trio of stolen bases that advanced the Keiser runners into scoring position. The Seahawks were a perfect 7-7 on stolen bases in game one.
Senior righty
Nate Harmon pitched arguably the most memorable game of his Southeastern career in game two of the doubleheader. Harmon held the Seahawks hitless through four frames and went the distance to earn his first complete game victory in a Fire uniform. The Manassas, Va. native also fanned 10 batters for just the third time in his SEU career.
The Keiser one through five hole hitters, who had been hitting .361 (13-36) off of Southeastern pitching this weekend, were held to just .059 (1-17) at the plate versus Harmon.
Luis Diaz and
Gerald Ceballos led the offensive charge from the onset for the Fire, as the two went back to back with solo homers to lead off the bottom of the first.
Acevedo tallied on an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth with a monster shot towering over the left field wall to put SEU up 3-1.
The Fire are back in action this Tuesday, as they travel to Jacksonville for a non-conference doubleheader against the Trinity Baptist College Eagles. Game times are set for 4:00 and 6:30 p.m.
