LAKELAND, Fla. — No. 11 Southeastern closed the regular season with a complete performance Saturday, riding dominant pitching and a late offensive surge to a 6-0 shutout of New College at Ted A. Broer Stadium. The win secured a 3-1 series victory for the Fire and sent Southeastern into postseason play on a high note after another strong showing on both sides of the ball.
In a game controlled largely by pitching through the early innings, Southeastern found its breakthrough in the second.
Cooper Ciesielski put the Fire in front with one swing, turning on a pitch and sending a solo home run over the wall in left to make it 1-0. It was an early spark in what would become another productive day at the plate for the Fire left fielder.
Southeastern starter
Brody McMullen made that lead stand through the middle innings, working around traffic and keeping the Mighty Banyans from generating much offensively. New College threatened in the fifth when a double and pair of baserunners put pressure on the Fire defense, but McMullen worked out of trouble to preserve the shutout. He scattered just one hit across five scoreless innings, helping set the tone for the afternoon.
The Fire doubled the lead in the fourth after
Jace Essig sparked the inning with a single and
Cade Parry was hit by a pitch. Ciesielski followed with another hit to load the bases before
Charlie Collins lifted a sacrifice fly to right, bringing Essig home for a 2-0 advantage.
After several innings of tight baseball, Southeastern delivered the knockout blow in the seventh.
Nathanial Hopkins drew a leadoff walk and stole second, setting the table for the Fire offense. After Essig was hit by a pitch and Parry reached to load the bases, Ciesielski came through in the biggest moment of the game, ripping a bases-clearing double down the third-base line that skipped into the corner and, aided by an outfield error, brought home three runs for a 5-0 lead.
Collins followed immediately with an RBI single through the right side to score Ciesielski and push the margin to six, capping a four-run inning that put the finale out of reach.
While Southeastern kept adding pressure offensively, the bullpen took over and never let New College back in it.
Aron Harrington delivered two scoreless frames in relief,
Hayden Givens-Craig worked around an eighth-inning threat, and
Cole Jones shut the door in the ninth to complete the two-hit shutout.
Ciesielski led the way offensively, going 3-for-4 with a home run, double and four RBIs in one of his top performances of the season. Essig added two hits and scored twice, while Collins drove in two runs as the middle of the order powered the Fire attack.
The Fire now turn their focus to the Sun Conference Tournament, where they will open play Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers against fifth-seeded St. Thomas.
