MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.— For the first time this year, the Fire baseball team lost a season series. After being defeated in the opening game against No. 10 St. Thomas Friday night, Southeastern was stunned by scores of 14-2 and 7-3 to finish the series with the Bobcats.
The Bobcats took control of game one immediately. After a leadoff double, STU plated five runs with two outs thanks to five hits and an SEU error.
Abdel Guadalupe answered for the Fire, taking Bobcat pitcher Ian Exposito deep for his team-leading 13
th home run of the season. The bomb, which drove in
Colton Onstott, cut the deficit to three in the top of the second. Guadalupe finished the competition 2-3 with a double, a home run and two RBIs.
St. Thomas then responded with a pair of two-run shots to make it a 9-2 game after just two innings. STU scored in each of the first four innings and registered 15 hits on the day, expanding the advantage to 12 runs through four.
The defeat in game one marked the first time this year that the Fire lost back-to-back contests, as they fell 14-2.
Exposito (8-2) picked up the win with his only blemish being Guadalupe's two-run shot, while
Jayden Hartle (6-1) was charged with his first loss of the year.
SEU tried to get back on the right track by taking an early lead in the second competition. After
Manuel Mesa led the game off with a double to center,
Ivan Nunez hit a sacrifice fly that brought the senior around to open the scoring.
Despite the start, St. Thomas captured a 2-1 advantage with a pair of runs in the bottom of the initial frame. The Fire then hit into double plays the next two innings to keep the team off the board.
STU eventually stretched its lead to 7-1 after five innings with seven unanswered runs before the Fire could respond.
In the sixth, Mesa tripled and was immediately brought in by
Dominic Anagnos. Both players ended the game with 2-4 performances. Mesa scored twice, while Anagnos drove in two.
Adam De La Cruz, who scored the final run of the contest when he crossed the plate in the eighth on an Anagnos single, finished 2-4, as well.
With the trio of losses, the Fire drop to 39-7 (15-3 TSC) on the season and the Bobcats, who are second in the Sun Conference standings, move to 34-11 (16-5 TSC).
SEU will now face No. 25 Webber International for a midweek game in Babson Park on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
