LAKELAND, Fla.- The newly-ranked No. 1 Southeastern University baseball team continues its torrid pace through NAIA competition, winning a program record 24
th-straight with an 11-5 defeat of the University of St. Francis (Ill.) Fighting Saints.
For the second day in a row, the Fire faced a 5-0 deficit to the Fighting Saints, as USF plated five runs through the first two innings of action.
Unlike yesterday, the Fire did not wait to make up their ground until the later frames. SEU plated five runs in the bottom of the third on two hits. First, a bases-loaded hit by pitch brought
Pedro Castellano home to put Southeastern on the board. Later in the inning, junior catcher
Luis Cabrera belted a grand-slam home run to tie the game up 5-5. This was Cabrera's second grand slam of the season.
SEU received another dynamic relief effort from their bullpen. Junior right-handed pitcher
Carlos Soto entered the game in the bottom of the second, retiring the first six Fighting Saints he faced.
Soto went on to toss 6.1 innings of shutout relief, allowing just two hits and striking out seven batters to earn his first win of the season.
Back-to-back RBI doubles by junior shortstop
Sam Faith and junior first baseman
Nolan Machibroda put SEU ahead of USF 7-5 in the bottom of the fifth. Another bases-loaded hit by pitch later in the frame put the Fire up 8-5.
Senior outfielder
Zach Cornell hammered his 10
th home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the sixth, a solo shot to right-center on the first pitch he saw.
Senior outfielder
Abdel Guadalupe belted his team-leading 11
th homer of the season in the bottom of the seventh, a solo dinger to left field to five Southeastern an 11-5 lead.
The Fire are back in action tomorrow at Ted A. Broer Stadium as they host the Lawrence Technical College Blue Devils. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m.
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