Baseball Falls to State College of Florida in Pitcher's Duel, 3-2

Baseball Falls to State College of Florida in Pitcher's Duel, 3-2
February 8, 2021
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Pitching ruled the day in Santa Fe College baseball's matchup with the State College of Florida, and the visiting Manatees were able to escape with a 3-2 victory, handing the Saints their first loss on the home field this season. 
 
The two teams previously had played one week earlier in a slugfest, won by SCF 13-9. 
 
Although the outcome proved to be similar, today's game played out much differently, with both teams going scoreless in the first seven innings.
 
Both starting pitchers, Robb Adams of Santa Fe and Matt Gelorme of SCF, were dominant.
 
Gelorme didn't allow a Saints' hit through his five innings pitched while striking out three. Adams went six scoreless frames, striking out four batters while conceding just four hits and two walks. 
 
Santa Fe's best chance to open the game's scoring came in the sixth inning after Gelorme had given way to the bullpen. The Saints were able to load the bases with just one out, but came up empty after a fly out and groundout. 
 
State College of Florida accounted for the first runs of the game in the top half of the eighth, plating three. A single was followed by an RBI double, and then the Saints were hurt by back-to-back errors that led to a run. The third run came on a sacrifice fly, leaving the Saints with ground to make up.
 
In Santa Fe's final at-bats in the ninth inning, the Saints got things going. With one out, Santiago Garavito earned a walk, and Nick Herndon brought him to third base with a double. 
 
A Xavier Moronta ground out brought Garavito in to score, and now with two outs, a Luke Marquis single kept the Saints' hopes alive and scored Herndon to bring the score to 3-2. 
 
The game-tying run reached second base after a wild pitch, but the Manatees got the final out with a strikeout to hold off the Saints. 
 
Flynn's Final Thoughts
"Robb (Adams) struggled in the first inning with some command and settled in, throwing six scoreless," said Assistant Coach Conrad Flynn. "Carson Pillsbury came in and was solid in relief, giving us a chance to keep it close even with giving up a couple of runs. We obviously struggled a little offensively today, but it happens. Credit goes to their starter, who didn't allow a hit in his five inning outing. We did a good job late in the game stringing together some good at-bats and getting some runners on base to score a couple."
 
Up Next
Santa Fe will host Tallahassee Community College on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 3:00 p.m.