LAKELAND, Fla.- Fueled by a dynamic performance on the mound by senior right-handed pitcher
Brenden Heiss, the No. 4 Southeastern University baseball team defeated the Robert Morris University Eagles 6-2 to win their 20
th-straight contest. Despite playing the contest at Ted A. Broer Stadium, the Fire elected to play as the visiting team on the scoreboard.
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Heiss tossed six innings of shutout baseball, conceding just two singles, walking one, and striking out 13. The Chicago, Illinois native retired nine of the last 10 Eagles he faced.
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"This was big for my confidence," commented Heiss. "We worked a lot in the bullpen on Wednesday and it was nice to be able to take what I had worked on there and bring it onto the mound today."
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As a collective unit, the SEU pitching staff struck out RMU hitters 19 times in 37 at-bats.
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The Fire struck first in the top of the first, as an RBI-single by senior infielder
Colton Onstott to right field scored
Pedro Castellano and gave SEU a 1-0 advantage.
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The Fire doubled their lead to 2-0 in the top of the fifth when
Cristian Martin crossed home on a wild pitch.
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SEU opened up the contest in the top of the sixth with four runs on five hits and two errors. First, junior shortstop
Sam Faith notched a two-RBI single to center field to put the Fire ahead 4-0. Later in the frame, senior catcher
Benito Varela drove Faith home with a single through the left side. The Fire capped off the inning with
Nolan Machibroda coming home on a RMU miscue to pull ahead 6-0.
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The Eagles attempted to mount a rally in the bottom of the ninth, scoring a pair of runs on two bases-loaded walks. However, senior right-handed reliever
Marc Soto closed the door on Robert Morris, picking up a pair of punch outs to cement the 6-2 win and earn his second save of the season in the process.
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SEU rounds out the Spring Break slate with a doubleheader tomorrow versus the RV Saint Xavier University Cougars. Game times at Ted A. Broer Stadium are scheduled for 12:00 and 3:00 p.m.
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