LAKELAND, Fla. — No. 8 Southeastern continued its Sun Conference-opening series against Warner with an 11–5 victory Friday afternoon at Ted A. Broer Stadium, using timely hitting and a pair of big innings to pull away and improve to 18–6 overall and 2–1 in conference play.
Warner struck first in the top of the second inning with a solo home run to take an early 1–0 lead. Southeastern answered in the bottom half of the third.
Armani Cozza doubled to start the rally and later came around to score when
Dayne Wimberly drove a ball into the gap for an RBI double, tying the game at 1–1 and shifting momentum back toward the Fire.
The Royals responded in the fourth inning with their biggest offensive push of the afternoon, stringing together several hits to plate three runs and move back in front 4–1. The advantage was short-lived, however, as Southeastern delivered the decisive blow in the bottom of the inning.
Paul Wittmann sparked the rally with a run-scoring single before Cozza stepped to the plate and launched a towering grand slam to left-center field. The blast capped a five-run inning for the Fire and quickly turned a deficit into a 6–4 Southeastern lead.
The Fire continued to add insurance later in the game. In the sixth inning, Southeastern pushed three more runs across the plate, aided by a Warner error and Cozza's second home run of the afternoon. The long ball extended the Fire advantage and capped a dominant performance at the plate for the senior.
Southeastern tacked on two additional runs in the seventh inning to stretch the lead into double digits.
Cort Pryor delivered a triple that drove in a run before
Braden Bartholomae followed with an RBI single to center, giving the Fire an 11–4 cushion heading into the late innings.
Cozza finished the afternoon 3-for-5 with two home runs and six RBIs, leading a balanced Southeastern offensive effort that produced 12 hits.
Charlie Collins also recorded three hits in the contest, while Wimberly added two doubles and an RBI. Wittmann reached base three times and scored twice, and Pryor provided a spark off the bench with a triple, an RBI, and three runs scored.
On the mound,
Byler Reither earned the win for Southeastern, improving to 4–1 on the season. The right-hander worked 5.2 innings, allowing four runs while striking out four batters.
Grant Trentmann followed in relief before
Peyten Czekalewski closed out the game with two scoreless innings to secure the victory.
The Fire will return to Ted A. Broer Stadium on Saturday morning for Game Four of the series against Warner, with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m.
