AUBURNDALE, Fla. — No. 8 Southeastern erupted for 16 runs across the final six innings Monday night, rolling past Cornerstone 16–2 at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational at Mickey Etherton Field.
Cornerstone struck first in the bottom of the second inning, using a single and a stolen base to set up an RBI groundout for a 1–0 lead. The Fire quickly answered in the third. After
Paul Wittmann was hit by a pitch and stole second,
Armani Cozza worked a walk and a Cornerstone error loaded the bases.
Nathanial Hopkins brought home the tying run with a fielder's choice before
Cade Parry followed with an RBI walk to give Southeastern a 2–1 advantage.
The Fire added to the lead in the fourth inning when Cozza doubled down the left-field line and later scored on a
Dayne Wimberly RBI single to push the margin to 3–1.
Southeastern extended the lead in the sixth.
Cooper Ciesielski singled and stole second before Cozza delivered an RBI single to right-center. Wimberly followed with a triple to center to score Cozza and make it 5–1.
Cornerstone scratched a run back in the bottom of the sixth, but the Fire quickly responded again in the seventh.
Charlie Collins singled to start the inning before a walk and hit batter loaded the bases. Andy Roman then cleared them with a three-run triple into the right-center gap, stretching the lead to 8–2.
Southeastern put the game away with a massive eighth inning, scoring eight runs on four hits while drawing multiple walks and taking advantage of hit batters and wild pitches. Cozza capped the rally with a two-run single to center as the Fire batted around and pushed the score to 16–2.
Cozza led the offensive surge with a huge night at the plate, going 4-for-4 with five runs scored, three RBIs, and two walks while reaching base six times. Wimberly added two hits and two RBIs, while Collins finished with two hits and two walks from the leadoff spot.
On the mound,
Finn Still earned the win after allowing just one run on three hits across five innings while striking out three. The Fire bullpen was sharp the rest of the way, as
Austin Peddycoart,
Aron Harrington,
Brody McMullen, and
Micah Earwood combined to close out the final three innings while striking out seven.
With the win, Southeastern improves to 16–6 on the season.
Southeastern now returns home to open Sun Conference play this weekend against Warner at Ted A. Broer Stadium. The four-game series begins Thursday at 6 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Friday at 2 p.m., before wrapping up Saturday morning with an 11 a.m. first pitch in Lakeland.
