AVE MARIA, Fla.- The No. 2 Southeastern University baseball team secured The 2021 Sun Conference Baseball Regular Season Championship with a doubleheader sweep on the road versus the Ave Maria University Gyrenes Saturday afternoon. The Fire run-ruled the Gyrenes 12-1 in seven innings in the first contest, before capturing the second contest 7-1 to garner their second-straight TSC Regular Season Title.
GAME ONE:
The Fire offense piled in 12 runs on 13 hits to blitz the Gyrenes' pitching staff early. Senior designated hitter
Colton Onstott got the scoring started with a solo home run to right field in the top of the second, his ninth long ball of the season, to put the Fire up 1-0. An AMU error and an RBI-single by
Carter Bridge that scored
Thomas Broyles later in the frame grew the SEU lead to 3-0.
SEU plated six runs on five hits in the top of the fourth to open the game up versus AMU 9-0. After a pair of sacrifice flies by
Luis Cabrera and Onstott, senior infielder
Pedro Castellano belted a three-run home run to right field to put the Fire up on the Gyrenes 8-0. The long ball was his 13th of the season. An RBI-single by Broyles up the middle brought
Anthony Carrera home to cap off the monster inning.
Senior right-handed pitcher
Christian Camacho was solid in his start for SEU, tossing four shutout innings, allowing just two hits, walking none, and striking out four. The Elk Grove Village, Ill. native improved to 8-1 on the season with the winning decision.
Castellano and Onstott each finished with a team-high three runs batted in throughout the contest.
Carter Bridge was 3-4 at the plate with two RBIs.
The committee of DJ Roberts,
Nick Houghton, and
Damien Torres closed out the contest on the mound for SEU, each pitching one of the final three frames in that order. Hougton sat the Gyrenes down in order in the top of the eighth.
GAME TWO:
Senior left-handed pitcher
Ryan Munoz dominated for the Fire in just his second start of the season. The Isabela, Puerto Rico native tossed eight stellar innings, allowing four hits, one earned run, one walk, and eight strikeouts. With the win, Munoz improved to a team-best 9-0 on the season.
The Fire struck first in the top of the second, as RBI singles by
Shamir Morales and Carrera put SEU ahead of AMU 2-0.
The Gyrenes got their lone run of the contest across in the bottom of the fourth to trim the deficit to 2-1.
An Ave Maria error in the top of the sixth allowed another Fire run to score, putting Southeastern ahead 3-1.
In the top of the eighth, senior infielder
Austin James belted his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to left field to grow the Fire advantage to 4-1.
SEU got the benefit of three more insurance runs in the top of the ninth to open the lead up to 7-1.
Senior right-handed reliever
Marc Soto closed out the Gyrenes with a scoreless bottom of the ninth, striking out two of the three he faced.
The Fire now enter The Sun Conference Tournament as the top-seeded team and will compete on Thursday May 6 with opponent and time to be determined.
