PALATKA, Fla. – In the series' first game with St. Johns River State College, Santa Fe College Baseball came up one run shy of the Vikings.

The narrow loss was the Saints' fourth in their last five outings.

The Vikings took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, manufacturing a couple of runs off starter Garfield Johns.

SF, however, took their first lead of the game by bringing across four runs in the top of the fifth, After Jake McKee led off with a single, Zeb Marquis found the barrel of the bat for a two-run home run to tie the game.

Later in the inning, a bases empty single paid off once again, as Tyler Shelnut drove in Jevin Relaford to put the Saints ahead 4-2.

The Vikings were able to tie the game with a two-run home run of their own in the bottom half of the inning, and then took the lead right back with three runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Saints' reliever Jake Blair was able to record the first two outs before things unraveled a bit. Two of the Vikings' three runs were brought across from a wild pitch and an error.

The Saints rallied with two outs in the eighth, starting with back-to-back singles from Z. Marquis and McKee. The next at-bat, Billy Graham pinch hit and produced with a two-RBI double. After Relaford walked, the tying run remained at second base with Shelnut at the dish, but the Vikings were able to induce a fly out to right field.

In the ninth, Gabriel Esquivel's single was spoiled, as St. Johns River preserved the Mid-Florida Conference win with a double-play in the final at-bat.

Key Statistics

SF had 13 hits to St. Johns River's seven but weren't always able to make the most of them.

Nine different hitters contributed with hits, with multi-hit efforts coming from Shelnut, Esquivel, McKee, and Z. Marquis.

Shelnut and Marquis had two of the three extra-base hits with the two-run homers, and Graham's two-RBI double was the third.

On the mound, Johns had the no-decision in five innings pitched, conceding four earned runs.

Blair was charged with the loss, while Lance Bolton gave the Saints a chance for a comeback, keeping the Vikings off the board while recording the final four outs, three of which were strikeouts.

Up Next

Receiving votes Santa Fe (14-13, 2-4 MFC) hopes to get back into the win column on their home field Saturday, Mar. 19, when the Saints host the Vikings for a 1:00 p.m. start.