The No. 2 Southeastern University baseball team used its bats early and often to power its way to a 16-12 victory over the No. 8 Keiser University Seahawks on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams combined to score 28 runs on 32 hits. Nine of the 16 Southeastern hits went for extra-bases.
SEU quickly amassed a 10-0 lead over KU after two innings of play, starting with three runs in the bottom of the first off a three-run home run by senior infielder
Pedro Castellano, his 11th long ball of the season.
The Fire then scored seven runs on six hits and an error in the bottom of the second to take their commanding 10-0 advantage. An RBI-double by
Anthony Carrera, RBI-single by
Thomas Broyles, and a RBI-single by
Luis Cabrera highlighted the big inning.
However, the Seahawks answered with eight unanswered runs over the next three innings, including a six-run top of the fifth, to trim the Fire lead to 10-8.
SEU answered with five runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth. Senior shortstop
Austin James replenished the Fire lead to 12-8 with a ferociously hit two-RBI single up the middle that scored Marcano and Cabrera. A two-RBI double later in the inning to left field by Castellano grew the SEU advantage to 15-8. Castellano would finish the game with six runs batted in.
After Keiser put four runs across in the top of the seventh to bring the deficit to 15-2, SEU head coach
Adrian Dinkel called on senior left-handed pitcher
Ryan Munoz to close things out for the second time in the series.
Munoz delivered once again, tossing 2.1 innings of scoreless relief and striking out five to earn his team leading fourth save of the season.
Carrera belted his ninth home run of the season in the top of the ninth to give the Fire extra insurance, a solo beam to right field that pushed the Fire ahead 16-12.
