LAKELAND, Fla. - The No. 4 ranked Southeastern baseball team had a big eighth inning as they brought in 10 runs, which contributed to their 12-5 win over St. Francis this Tuesday evening.
Junior shortstop Sam Faith was the catalyst that got it going for the Fire, as he went a perfect 5-5 on the day, earning three RBIs.
"I didn't change anything in my swing or my approach," commented Faith. "I have been feeling pretty good these past weeks and the thing I think most about when I'm at the plate is I have a job to do, and that's be productive and contribute to this team."
The Fighting Saints guided the majority of the contest, as they led for the first seven innings of the game. In five innings of play, USF kept the Fire quiet, leading 5-0.
At the top half of the sixth frame, Marc Soto came into the game for the Fire in relief . The senior right-handed pitcher was vital in Southeastern's defense, as he shut down all 10 Fighting Saints he faced, eight being strikeouts.
"He's an energy-giver. You felt the energy change when he got on the mound. That's why we went to him in that situation and you felt the energy flow into our dugout and it translated into our offense," commented head coach Adrian Dinkel.
SEU finally crossed the plate in the bottom of the seventh. Blake Buckman led off the inning reaching base with a walk. Next up to the plate was Faith, who hit a two-run homer to center field to help cut the deficit to three.
Heading into the eighth inning, St. Francis held a 5-2 advantage over Southeastern. However, the Fire were not done yet. SEU recorded 10 runs on nine hits in the bottom half of the eighth, batting through the order.
Zach Cornell got things started for the Fire as he doubled down the right field line. Colton Onstott belted his ninth home run of the season to make it a one-run game.
Then, with the bases loaded, an RBI single through the left side by Benito Varela scored Buckman which tied the game 5-5 and kept the bases full for the Fire.
A two RBI single by Francisco Soriano helped Conner Bridge and Faith cross home plate, allowing SEU to take a 7-5 lead over USF.
The lead-off man for SEU Abdel Guadalupe singled to put him on base, and load the bases once again. A three-RBI double from Pedro Castellano cleared the bases and put the Fire ahead 10-5.
In his second appearance of the inning, Onstott hit an RBI-double bringing Castellano to home plate, advancing their lead to 11-5.
Faith finished the scoring for SEU with an RBI single to left field that gave SEU a 12-5 victory.
"We did a very poor job at the beginning of the game of having quality at the plate. Their arm did a great job. However I don't think we did a good job of seeing pitches we were capable of handling," shared Dinkel. "At the end of the day, I think we grinded out enough to find a way to put up that ten spot in the eighth and come away with the win."
The Fire will be back in action tomorrow as they play St. Francis once again at 6:30 p.m.
