TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In the season's second matchup with Tallahassee Community College, No. 16 Santa Fe Baseball once again came up just short against the Eagles in a high-scoring contest, 9-7.

The game's scoring didn't start until the top half of the fifth, when Jevin Relaford's single brought across Zeb Marquis, who had stolen both second and third base.

SF went ahead 3-0 in the sixth after tacking on two more runs. Dylan Mock hit a two-out solo home run, which was followed by a hit-by-pitch and RBI double from Billy Graham.

The Eagles got to Saints' starter Mitchell Gross for the first time in the sixth, after the left-hander had made it through five quality scoreless innings. Tallahassee was able to tie it at 3-3 before Gross gave way to Jake Blair, who induced a 4-3 putout to avoid any further damage.

SF regained the lead in the top of the seventh with two runs, first on an RBI hit by pitch from Santiago Garavito then on a sacrifice fly from Mock.

Tallahassee, however, put up six runs in the seventh inning to take control and lead 9-5.

Blair had recorded two strike outs before things started to go awry for the Saints, with errors and timely hitting from the Eagles contributing to the forgettable inning.  

Garavito and Mock had back-to-back singles in the ninth to try and jumpstart a comeback. With two outs and two runners still on, Graham kept the Saints' hopes alive with a two-RBI double to make it 9-7.

After a single from Bret Madren, runners were at the corners with the tying run at first, but the Eagles got the third and final out via the strikeout.

Key Statistics

The Saints totaled 13 hits, with five different bats in the lineup having two-hit efforts. Graham paced SF with his three RBI, while Mock had a good day with two runs, two RBI, and his solo home run.

The final line for the starter Gross included 5.1 IP, six hits, three earned runs, a walk, and seven strikeouts.

Only one of Blair's six runs allowed in his 1.1 innings of work was earned, before he then gave way to Tobin Moran. Moran got four outs from the mound with two hits allowed and a K.

Up Next

No. 16 Santa Fe (7-6) hosts Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on Friday, Feb. 18 at 3:00 p.m.