March 7, 2021
Baseball Pitches Shutout in Conference Opener, 3-0 over FSCJ
Florida State College at Jacksonville
0-0
0
Santa Fe College
0-0
3
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Florida State College at Jacksonville
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
|
Santa Fe College
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 3 | 0 |
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Pitching and defense were the name of the game on Sunday afternoon, as Santa Fe baseball shutout Florida State College at Jacksonville in the Mid-Florida Conference opener, 3-0.
It was the second shutout of the season for Santa Fe, as the Saints won their fourth consecutive game and improved to 7-2 on the SF Baseball Field.
Offensively, Santa Fe was only able to muster three hits, but they were timely. The Saints brought two runners across in the third inning before tacking on the game's final run in the sixth.
In the third, an RBI single from Tyler Shelnut scored Armando Albert. Later, Nick Herndon had a sacrifice fly to plate Jonathan Logsdon.
In the sixth, Luis Rodriguez led off with a double, and eventually advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Luke Marquis proceeded to squeeze Rodriguez in with a bunt back to the pitcher to put the Saints ahead 3-0, which would prove to be the game's final score.
The Saints pitching and defense was excellent. Starting pitcher Mitchell Gross earned his third win of 2021, and went six scoreless innings for his second-consecutive appearance on the mound.
Gross did see some baserunners, but he was timely with the strikeout and the defense made plays behind him, however, like in the fifth inning that concluded with a smooth 4-6-3 double play.
After the quality start, Gross gave way to Carson Pillsbury, who kept FSCJ off the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth.
Tyler Shelnut entered in the ninth frame with two runners on and two outs already recorded. After a walk, Shelnut earned his fifth save by inducing a 4-3 groundout, exactly how he wrapped up Thursday's win over TNXL Academy.
Key Statistics
Santa Fe's offense walked on four occasions and finished with three hits, one apiece from Shelnut, Luke Marquis, and Rodriguez with a double. Marquis and Shelnut had an RBI, along with Herndon after the sacrifice fly.
Gross's final line from the mound in the win included 6.0 innings pitched, six hits, one walk, and six strikeouts. Pillsbury gave up one hit and three walks in 2.2 innings pitched, before Shelnut claimed his fifth save by recording the final out.
Wiggs' Words
"Today's weather was favorable for pitching due to the wind blowing in, and Mitchell Gross didn't disappoint," said Head Coach Johnny Wiggs. "He threw great and got out of every little jam he got into. The key also was that we played errorless ball. We didn't get a lot of hits but we executed when we needed to."
Up Next
Santa Fe (11-7, 1-0 MFC) turns right back around for another Mid-Florida Conference test on Monday, March 8 against Daytona State College. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on the SF Baseball Field.