
May 8, 2021
No. 8 Baseball Continues to Roll and Cruises Past Miami Dade, 11-1
LAKELAND, Fla. – No. 8 Santa Fe Baseball advanced to the final day of the FCSAA State Tournament with yet another dominant victory, handing No. 20 Miami Dade their first loss of the tournament, 11-1 in five innings.
The Saints were firing on all cyclinders and dismantled the Sharks to win their third-consecutive game when facing elimination.
TOP 1ST- MDC 1, SF 0
The Sharks accounted for the game's first run, using a leadoff triple followed by a groundout to push a run across. Saints' starter Carson Pillsbury stranded a baserunner and concluded the frame with his first strikeout of the game.
BOTTOM 1ST - SF 1, MDC 1
Santa Fe tied the game at a run apiece when Xavier Moronta continued to swing a hot bat, bringing in Jonathan Logsdon with a drive into right field.
The Saints threatened for more with the bases loaded and one out, but the Sharks escaped the jam with an unassisted double play at first base.
BOTTOM 2ND - SF 5, MDC 1
After a 1, 2, 3 inning from Pillsbury and the defense, Santa Fe took control with four runs in the second.
The half-inning featured six walks, as the Saints' bats were patient and forced the Sharks to find the zone. Walks from Logsdon, Luis Rodriguez, and Moronta drove in runs, and Santiago Garavito had a sacrifice fly for the fifth score.
BOTTOM 3RD - SF 7, MDC 1
Santa Fe extended their lead to 7-1, rallying with two outs. Logsdon was down to the final strike in his at-bat, but turned on one and hit his third home run of the season over the left field wall for two RBI.
BOTTOM 4TH - SF 11, MDC 1
In the bottom of the fourth, the Saints bats continued to click and produced the four runs needed to put the ten-run rule in affect.
After a hit by pitch and walk, Dylan Mock made the Sharks pay with a bases clearing, two-RBI triple.
Mock touched home on a wild pitch for the tenth run, and Armando Albert had a quality at-bat that concluded with a single to right field to plate the 11th run in Nick Herndon.
In the top of the fifth, Pillsbury earned two groundouts and wrapped up the game in style with a swinging K.
Key Statistics
Making just his second start of the season, Pillsbury was excellent on the mound. In the complete game, he allowed just one hit, one run, and one walk while striking out three. He retired the final 14 batters in his third win of the season.
It was the second consecutive day that the Saints won via the five-inning run rule, and the second consecutive game that the starting pitcher threw a complete game in Lance Bolton and Pillsbury.
Offensively, the Saints maintained their form from the 10-0 win over Pensacola State. Santa Fe had seven hits and were disciplined for a season-high 11 walks.
Six different players recorded RBI, led by three from Logsdon who went 1-of-1 with the home run, two walks, and three runs scored. Albert was 2-of-3 from the leadoff spot with a walk, RBI, and two runs scored.
Moronta (1-2, BB) and Mock (1-2, BB, 2R, 3B) each produced two RBI, and Herndon (1-1, 2 BB, 2 R) was effective as the DH.
Wigg's Words
On some of the keys to get to the final day: "Carson Pillsbury...I think his longest outing of the season was two or three innings, and he was tremendous for us. It was what we needed, and of course we took advantage of a lot of walks from Miami Dade and got some big hits as we got going there. I'm just really proud of the guys. They played clean defensively, and Pillsbury pounded the strike zone and got a lot of first pitch outs. I'm just excited to still be here on the final day tomorrow."
Up Next
No. 8 Santa Fe (32-12) will play Northwest Florida State College for the second time this tournament at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 9. The loser's season will come to a conclusion, while the winner will advance to play No. 20 Miami Dade for the FCSAA State Tournament Championship at approximately 3:00 p.m.
All tournament games are streamed live via the FCSAA Digital Network.