LAKELAND, Fla. – After sweeping No. 8 Keiser in the Sun Conference Series of the Week last week, the No. 2 Southeastern University baseball team hosts a doubleheader with Florida National on Tuesday starting at 2:00 pm followed by a weekend series at USCB starting Friday at 2:00 pm.
The Fire started the series with a walk-off home run courtesy of
Jose Marcano in game one to give SEU the 5-4 victory. Earlier in the game,
Pedro Castellano hit a three-run home run to give Southeastern a 4-3 lead. Shortstop
Sam Faith went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in game one against the Seahawks.
A seven-run fourth inning gave the Fire the edge in game two. Trailing 4-0 with two outs in the fourth, eight consecutive SEU batters reached on base while
Raymond Gonzalez highlighted the inning with his first career home run.
Thomas Broyles and
Benito Varela each went 2-for-4 with Broyles driving two runs and Varela collecting one RBI.
There was plenty of offense in the series finale that saw the Fire win 16-12. Castellano led SEU with six RBIs while
Anthony Carrera and
Austin James each went 3-for-5 with two RBIs.
Ryan Munoz recorded the save after completing 2.1 innings of work and recording five strikeouts.
Fire pitching struck out Keiser hitters 48 times over the course of the series, increasing their season total to 387 which is best in the NAIA.
Drew Gillespie carries the team with 72 while
Christian Camacho has tallied 67 strikeouts on the season.
Southeastern also increased their hit total 396 as a team, placing them third in the NAIA. Faith and Castellano lead the team in this category with 49 and 48, respectively.
Additionally, the Fire have the fourth most RBIs (57) with Castellano leading the NAIA with 57 RBIs on the season.
SEU is set to face Florida National for the third and fourth time this season, previously defeating the Conquistadors by scores of 10-0 and 9-4. FNU travels to Lakeland with an 11-22 record on the season and have dropped three of their last four after winning five straight contests. Junior shortstop Manuel Blanco leads the team with a .449 batting average and has knocked in 20 RBIs. Junior first baseman Carlos Cartaya holds the team lead with 26 RBIs. Sophomore pitcher Daniel Iglesias leads the team with 32 strikeouts through 29.0 innings pitched.
The Fire are 8-1 all-time against the Conquistadors and have won five consecutive matchups.
Southeastern returns to Sun Conference play when they hit the road for their weekend series at USCB. Winners of seven of their last ten, the Sand Sharks enter play this week with a 19-14 record including a 6-9 mark in conference play. Leandry Castro is the top offensive threat for USCB as he boasts a .466 batting average with eight home runs and 34 RBIs. Pitcher Matt Malatesta enters this week with a team-high 45 strikeouts through 41.0 innings of work with opponents hitting .240 against him.
These two programs haven't met since February 16, 2019 when Southeastern won 15-1. The Fire are 22-14 all-time against USCB and have won the past ten meetings.
To keep up with the action this week, follow @SEUFireBaseball on Twitter!
