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Box Score 2 LAKELAND, Fla. – On a day where balls were exiting Ted A. Broer Stadium at an alarming rate, the No. 4 Southeastern University baseball team swept the Edward Waters College Tigers in doubleheader action. The Fire dominated game one 16-5 before cruising to a 9-2 victory in the second contest.
The power of the Fire offense was on full display versus the Tigers. On the day, SEU bats hit .441 (26-59) with 10 home runs, five in each game.
"It was good to see the guys out there finally cutting it loose, being aggressive in the zone, and obviously seeing the results at the end of the day…This was probably the best offensively we've looked all year," shared Head Coach
Adrian Dinkel.
The standout performer at the plate was junior outfielder
Manuel Mesa. The Bronx, N.Y. native was a perfect 6-6 at the plate with three runs scored, three runs batted in, two home runs, two walks, and four stolen bases. Both of Mesa's long balls came in the second game of the doubleheader.
In game one, the Fire led 4-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth. Southeastern exploded for its most productive inning of the day, bringing across eight runs on just four hits. Junior outfielder
Marvin Malone led off the big inning with a solo shot to right center that quickly exited the ball park. The home run was his team leading fifth of the season.
The biggest hit of the inning came off the bat of junior third baseman
Keiner Colmenarez, who launched a grand slam home run over the right field fence to put the Fire up 9-2. Malone picked up his second RBI of the inning when he singled home Mesa to put SEU up 12-2 and cap off the Fire scoring in the frame.
Southeastern's final four runs of the contest all came via the long ball in the bottom of the sixth. Senior utility man
Kainalu Pitoy belted a three-run dinger over the left field fence, which was followed up by a solo homer to left center by junior outfielder
Alex Aristy. The homers were both players' first of the season.
Game two was a tighter affair for most of the contest. The Tigers struck first in the top of the first thanks to a solo home run by Willett Boggs that put EWC up 1-0.
The Fire answered in the bottom of the second when junior utility player
Jett Swetland propelled his first homer of the season to left field, tying up the game 1-1.
A two run bomb by Mesa in the bottom of the third scored Aristy and put the Fire ahead 3-1.
SEU broke open the contest in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs off of home runs. Mesa, junior utility man
Dan Valerio, and Colmenarez all went yard in the half inning.
An RBI single by Malone that brought Mesa across the plate in the bottom of the sixth represented the only run batted in that was not from a homer in the game.
After surrendering three hits and the run off the deep ball in the top of the first, senior right handed pitcher
Dylan Drawdy settled in to toss two subsequent innings of no hit baseball, retiring all six batters he faced during that stretch. Drawdy earned the win on the staff day, improving to 2-0 on the year.
The Fire look to stay in rhythm as they travel to Thomasville for a Sun Conference weekend series versus Thomas. Game one on Friday is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
