LAKELAND, Fla.- Fueled by a spirited effort on the mound by their pitching staff and scrappy offense down the stretch, the No. 4 Southeastern University baseball team surpassed the No. 5 Georgia Gwinnett College Grizzlies 2-1 on Opening Day at Ted A. Broer Stadium.
The Fire fell into an early deficit to the Grizzlies, as Georgia Gwinnett scored the opening run in the top of the first thanks to a sacrifice fly by Livingston Morris that scored Gabe Howell.
After conceding a run on two hits in the top of the first, junior right-handed pitcher
Bryce Mulcahy settled in on the mound for the Fire, Mulcahy retired eight of the next 10 Grizzlies he faced, including striking out the side in the top of the second.
The Fire struggled offensively out the gate, as the first seven SEU batters went down in order, mustering up just two base hits through the first four innings of play.
Mulcahy exited the game after five innings of work, finishing with just the one run allowed, one walk, and eight strikeouts. He was relieved by senior southpaw
Ryan Munoz who excelled in his first appearance of the season for the Fire.
Munoz compiled four innings of shutout relief, surrendering no walks and striking out five. The Isabela, Puerto Rico native eventually earned the winning decision for Southeastern.
"He's progressed a ton since last year and that's why he was good in that situation," shared SEU head coach
Adrian Dinkel, who improved to 4-0 in season openers during his tenure at Southeastern. "He's competitive and can land a lot of pitches for strikes and he showed it tonight for us."
As SEU worked its way into the GGC bullpen, the Fire offense came through in the bottom of the sixth. After junior outfielder
Cristian Martin led off the inning being hit by a pitch, senior outfielder
Zach Cornell singled to center to advance Martin to second. Back-to-back wild pitches brought Martin home to tie things up 1-1.
SEU got the go-ahead and game-deciding run later that frame, as junior designated hitter
Nolan Machibroda drove a ball to deep left field that allowed Cornell to come home and put the Fire ahead 2-1.
"Having those runs was a relief and gave me the confidence to keep going," commented Munoz. "I knew those guys would hit and they are going to continue to hit all season."
The Fire look to earn the series win tomorrow as the take on the Grizzlies in a doubleheader. Game times are set for 2:00 and 5:00 p.m.
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