May 10, 2021
No. 8 Baseball Falls to No. 20 Miami Dade in FCSAA State Tournament Final
Santa Fe College
4-1
5
Miami Dade College
3-1
10
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Santa Fe College
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
|
Miami Dade College
|
0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | X | 10 | 12 | 0 |
LAKELAND, Fla. – No. 8 Santa Fe Baseball came one win short of advancing to the NJCAA Division I World Series, falling by a final score of 10-5 to No. 20 Miami Dade.
After losing in the tournament's opening game, the Saints started to find a groove and won four consecutive games to finish as the runner-up in the FCSAA State Tournament.
BOTTOM 3RD - MDC 5, SF 0
Starter Mitchell Gross made it through the first two innings fairly smoothly, but the Sharks eventually forced his exit in the third with a big inning.
Miami Dade had a two-RBI double, and then a two-out single RBI for the third run off Gross.
The lefty gave way to Eduardo Yepes, but the Sharks produced another run before he gave way to Garfield Johns. The fifth run came across on a passed ball, but Johns finally got the third out with a 4-3 putout.
TOP 5TH - MDC 5, SF 3
With a lot of ground to try and make up, the Saints started to chip away with three runs in the fifth.
Nick Herndon tripled to bring home the Saints' first run, and Santiago Garavito had a sacrifice fly later in the inning.
With two outs recorded, Bret Madren doubled down the left field line for an RBI, and forced the Sharks into the bullpen as well. A hard-hit lineout to third base from Albert concluded the inning, as the Sharks' third baseman robbed the Saints from what would have been another run.
TOP 6TH - MDC 5, SF 4
Santa Fe made it a one-run contest with a solo home run from Luis Rodriguez, his third long ball of the tournament.
BOTTOM 6TH - MDC 6, SF 4
The Sharks countered with a run of their own, taking advantage of a SF error to score an unearned run on a single to right field.
TOP 7TH - MDC 6, SF 5
Nick Herndon led off the seventh, turning on a pitch to knock it over the right field wall, bringing the Saints to within one run once again.
BOTTOM 8TH - MDC 10, SF 5
In what would prove to be their final at-bats, the Sharks gave themselves a five-run cushion by coming up with some timely hits.
Johns pitched all the way into the eighth and did well to keep the Saints in the ballgame, giving way to Tyler Shelnut. Shelnut notched the innings' second out with a sacrifice fly that brought in a run, but the Sharks weren't done.
With the bases loaded, Shelnut got ahead in the counts, but Miami Dade came up with a single up the middle that scored two and an RBI single to left-center field for the tenth run.
TOP 9TH
Dylan Mock had a one-out single for the Saints and advanced to second base on a wild pitch, but the final out was recorded via strikeout to send the Sharks to the NJCAA Division I World Series and conclude the Saints' season.
Key Statistics
Santa Fe's offense wasn't quite as effective as it had been during the four-game winning streak in the tournament, and finished with just five hits in the defeat.
Herndon continued to swing the bat well on the day and finished 2-of-4 with two RBI, a triple, a homer, and two runs scored.
Rodriguez went 1-of-4 with the home run, and Madren was 1-of-3 with the RBI double.
Gross was charged with the loss on the mound in 2.2 IP with four earned runs and one strikeout.
Yepes, Johns, and Shelnut came out of the bullpen, with Johns tossing 4.2 innings, allowing just two hits, three unearned runs, and two walks while striking out five.
All-Tournament Team
The Saints had seven players named to the All-Tournament Team, and Robb Adams, who threw the first no-hitter in tournament history, was named the Bob Zerky Pitcher of the Tournament.
Outfield: Xavier Moronta, Nick Herndon
Pitcher: Lance Bolton, Robb Adams
Bob Zerky Pitcher of the Tournament: Robb Adams
Wiggs' Words
"I'm so proud of my guys and their toughness and resiliency throughout the week. It would have been easy to fold the tent up after losing game one of the tournament. They impressed me all week and I am proud to be their coach. Of course it's disappointing to come so close to the State and Regional Championship and a trip to the NJCAA World Series, but we will look back in a short period of time and be thankful for the run that we had and the season that we had."
The Saints conclude the 2021 campaign with a Mid-Florida Conference Championship, runner-up finish at the FCSAA State Tournament, and overall record of 33-13.
