April 7, 2021
No. 19 Baseball Fends Off No. 13 College of Central Florida, 6-5
Santa Fe College
0-0
6
College of Central Florida
0-0
5
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
OCALA, Fla. – Similarly to Game 1 of the series, No. 19 Santa Fe Baseball established an early lead at No. 13 College of Central Florida and preserved it in the final innings, getting past the Patriots, 6-5.
Coy Phillips' RBI single in the top of the first inning opened the game's scoring, driving in Jonathan Logsdon.
The Saints' advantage went to 2-0 in the next inning, when Armando Albert connected with a double to bring home Nick Herndon.
Although the Patriots manufactured a single tally off starter Robb Adams in the bottom of the second, the left-hander displayed good stuff to keep the CF bats at bay.
Santa Fe gave Adams even more insurance with a four-spot in the fourth inning. Two batters were hit by pitches, and Albert reached safely once again with an RBI single. With runners at first and third and two outs, Luis Rodriguez then stepped to the plate and deposited a pitch over the wall, helping SF seize a 6-1 lead.
College of Central Florida made it a three-run game with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, and then had a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth off Adams to cut the deficit to a single run, 6-5.
In came the closer Tyler Shelnut. Although he started with two walks, Shelnut induced an unassisted groundout to Rodriguez at third base, and the teams went to the ninth.
Santa Fe left a baserunner at second base in their at-bats, but Shelnut was able to set down the Patriots in order in the bottom half, getting flyouts to Herndon in right field, Zeb Marquis in left field, and Jevin Relaford in center field for the final outs.
Key Statistics
Adams went into his start on the hill leading the NJCAA in innings pitched and he showed why, going deep to earn the victory. The win for Adams on the mound was his team-high sixth, as he finished with a line of 7.2 innings pitched, ten hits, five earned runs, no walks, and seven strikeouts.
Shelnut's save was his second in the series and NJCAA-leading 12th of the season. The freshman right-hander allowed no hits and two walks over the course of earning the final four outs.
Six different players accounted for the Saints' eight hits.
Rodriguez has now homered in three of the last four games, and his only hit in this one cleared the fence to drive in three in the fourth. Albert went 3-of-5 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored, while Phillips had an RBI single.
Wigg's Words
"It was similar to Game 1 where we really jumped on the starter and had some great at-bats. Luis's three-run homer was huge and gave us a cushion. Robb Adams was really good for us against against a real good CF lineup. He just made one bad pitch there in the eighth on the two-run home run. Overall though, I am very proud of the guys' toughness and energy that has propelled us to this great start in conference."
Up Next
No. 19 Santa Fe (25-9, 14-2 MFC) hosts the Patriots for the final game of the three-game series on Friday, April 9. The opening pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.