No. 16 Baseball Starts 2022 with 8-5 Result over Hillsborough
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
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0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | X | 8 | 10 | 2 |
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 16 Santa Fe baseball plated the final three runs of the season/home opener against visiting Hillsborough College, beating the Hawks by an 8-5 score at the SF Baseball Field on Friday afternoon.
The Saints opened the scoring in the second inning, when Santiago Garavito laced a liner past the diving glove of the left fielder to plate Jake McKee and Luke Marquis, who got on his horse to make his way all the way around from first.
Starting pitcher Mitchell Gross got through the first three innings unscathed, until Hillsborough opened their scoring with a single tally in the fourth.
The Hawks proceeded to take their first lead, 3-2 in the top of the fifth, with a solo home run, triple, then RBI single.
Gross induced two flyouts for what would prove to be his final pitches, and although he left with a narrow deficit, the high-powered SF offense had plenty more production ahead.
In the bottom half of the fifth, the Saints regained the lead with three runs to go in front 5-3. After an RBI single from Jevin Relaford and a stolen base from the speedy infielder, Xavier Moronta stepped into the box with two runners in scoring position. Moronta turned on a 2-1 pitch to put the ball safely into right field, chasing the Hawks' initial reliever and scoring Zeb Marquis and Relaford.
The Hawks equalized in the top of the sixth, taking advantage of an error in the outfield to wave not one, but two runs home. Reliever Jake Blair, however, kept Hillsborough at bay and Zeb Marquis had a nice diving snag in center to avoid any further damage.
It didn't take long for the go-ahead runs to be found for SF, with three hits yielding two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Moronta once again had a timely bat, scoring Garavito with a two-out double to establish the 7-5 lead.
The Hawks loaded the bases in the seventh, only to have Blair get out of the jam with composed pitching.
Blair set HCC down in order in the eighth, then Tyler Shelnut's walk added an insurance run.
Wyatt Campbell entered on the mound for the ninth and got the save without facing any threat in a 1-2-3 frame.
The Saints finished with ten hits, as the bats started off strongly against the Hawks. Moronta, Garavito, and Zeb Marquis each had multi-hit games and one double apiece. Moronta paced the team with three RBI, while Garavito and Relaford drove in two.
On the mound, Gross went 5 innings with three earned runs and five K's. Blair claimed the win in three innings of work, setting the stage for Campbell's save by striking out four while holding the Hawks to two runs (one earned).
Up Next
No. 16 Santa Fe (1-0) makes their way to the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale, Fla. for two games on Saturday. Northwest Florida State College will be the Saints' 10:00 a.m. opponent, while Eastern Florida State College will be next at 1:00 p.m.
