GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Gainesville, No. 16 Santa Fe Baseball played host to South Georgia State College, and the Saints fell by 5-3 and 6-5 scores to the Hawks.

Game 1 – SGSC 5, #16 SF 3

The Hawks scored the game's first run in the second inning with a two-out, RBI single off starting pitcher Garfield Johns.

Johns and the Hawks starter each proceeded to work their way through a couple of quick innings, and the teams headed to the fifth inning with the score still at 1-0.

SF got on the scoreboard and took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, when Zeth Rodriguez's RBI double was followed by an RBI double of his own from Zeb Marquis.

After the Hawks tied it at 2-2 in the top of the sixth, Johns gave way to Jake Blair, who got the frame's final out with a strikeout.

Gabriel Esquivel looked like he may be the game's hero for the Saints with a leadoff solo homer in the bottom of the sixth. It was Esquivel's eighth home run of the season.

The Hawks, however, tied the game in the seventh and didn't stop there, getting a two-out single to score two and bring the score to 5-3.

The Saints nearly rallied in the seventh and had baserunners on first and second with one out, but they were left stranded.

Key Statistics

Wyatt Campbell suffered his first loss of the season on the mound.

In 5.2 innings of work, the starter Johns conceded six hits and two earned runs, striking out five.  

Santiago Garavito had two of the Saints' six hits. Four of the hits were of the extra-base variety, with doubles from Tyler Shelnut, Rodriguez, and Marquis capped off by the long ball from Esquivel.

Game 2 – SGSC 6, #16 SF 5

SF fell into a 3-0 hole after the first three innings of Game 2, and then the deficit doubled to 6-0 when the Hawks scored three more in the fifth.

Just three of the six South Georgia runs were earned runs off starter Tobin Moran.

Santa Fe cut the gap to three when it brought across three runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. The first three baserunners reached, then Esquivel walked in the Saints' first run.

JP Herrholz did his job as the cleanup hitter, lining a single into the outfield to score two. SF had runners on second and third to draw closer but couldn't find a timely hit with two outs.

In the sixth, a one-out Shelnut triple made it 6-5, scoring Jevin Relaford and Jake McKee.

The 3-4 hitters would come up empty though in the next two at-bats to strand Shelnut, and in the seventh, the SF bats were set down in order with three quick fly outs to conclude the doubleheader.

Key Statistics

The Saints were hurt by an uncharacteristic four errors throughout the game.

Moran (2-2) was charged with the loss in 4.1 innings of work. His final line included four hits, six runs (three earned), two walks, and three strikeouts. Jalen Hudson and Carson Pillsbury then combined to get the final eight outs, holding the Hawks scoreless to keep SF close.

Herrholz and Shelnut each had two RBI, with Shelnut's triple the only extra base knock.

Up Next

No. 16 Santa Fe (11-9) hopes to put an end to a three-game slide when it hosts the State College of Florida on Monday, Feb. 28. The game will begin at 3:00 p.m. at the SF Baseball Field.