Gainesville, FL

Santa Fe takes both games and sweeps visiting Daytona State, winning 3-0 and 5-2 in the day's doubheader. Santa Fe entered the day in a three way tie for one of the last spots in the FCSAA state tournament and needed two wins to feel comfortable about their spot in the postseason. Here's how the afternoon went:

Ryleigh Bauer started in the circle for the Saints in Game 1, tossing a complete game shutout and only allowing one Falcon to record a hit. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when Karris Rhine led off with a solo Homerun to break the scoreless tie and give Santa Fe the one run lead. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Madison Conway blasted a two run Homerun to centerfield to extend the Saints lead 3-0 and ultimately serve as the games final runs. The Falcons lone hit in the game came in the top of the 6th inning, and Bauer was able to limit only one Falcon baserunner to reach second base the entire game. Her final line included 7.0 innings, 0 Runs, 1 Hit and 5 K's, four of which were consecutive. 

Game two provided more offense, but stellar defensive plays by both teams early kept big innings off the board. A Brooke Markiewicz single in the bottom of the 2nd inning plated two Saints baserunners and gave Santa Fe an early 2-0 advantage. Daytona State threatened with multiple runners on base in the top of the third inning, however a 4-6-3 double play ended the inning and kept the Falcons scoreless. In the top of the 4th inning, a two run Homerun by the 7th batter in the Daytona State lineup tied the game at 2-2; however Madison Conway hit her 18th Homerun of the year in the next inning, which leads the state in that category, to take back a two run lead at 4-2. The 5th and final run of the game for Santa Fe was scored by Laura Pierce, who was driven in by a Markiewicz single that same innng. Ryleigh Bennett started in the circle and recieved the win, going 5.0 innings and only allowing two runs. Belle Mancillas navigated a scoreless 6th and 7th innings to collect the save. 

The Saints are back at home on Wednesday, April 30th to close out the regular season vs Seminole State. First pitch is slated for 2:00 PM.