GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Santa Fe College Baseball won the opening game of the Mid-Florida Conference series with visiting Daytona State College by a 6-1 score, and the victory was Johnny Wiggs' 500th as Head Coach of the program.

The Saints have now won their last two to help Wiggs reach the milestone, and Monday's win was highlighted by a strong eight-inning start from pitcher Trent Becker.

Daytona State was only able to add a single tally in the fifth inning to tie it at 1-1, and the SF offense did the rest to help the Saints pull away and produce the game's final five runs.

Jevin Relaford scored the first run for SF in the third, touching home after a single, stolen bases of both second and third, and a passed ball.

After the Falcons tied it in the fifth, Zeb Marquis led off the bottom of the frame with a single. After a walk and hit batter, the bases were loaded for perhaps the hottest hitter in the lineup, Tyler Shelnut. No. 6 worked a bases loaded walk for an RBI, and Gabriel Esquivel followed him with a sacrifice fly to bring the score to 3-1.

The lead swelled to 5-1 in the sixth after consecutive sacrifice flies from Marquis and Zeth Rodriguez.

Becker kept cruising from the mound, and the Saints tacked on the final run in the bottom of the eighth with another sacrifice fly from Marquis.

Postgame, the team and spectators honored Wiggs with a commemorative plaque, signed ball from the 2022 Saints, and a surprise celebratory ice bath. 

After Coach Wiggs showed off his athleticism and dodged the bucket of water, the Saints had to settle for the surprise attack with the water bottles after Win No. 500 at @SantaFeCollege! #SicEmSaints pic.twitter.com/sdSLBgHhty

— Santa Fe Saints (@santafesaints) March 22, 2022

Key Statistics

Becker's win improved his record from the mound to 5-2. In his eight innings of work, the lefty allowed five hits, the one run, and three walks while striking out five. Carson Pillsbury tossed the ninth inning and struck out two.

Offensively, six different hitters recorded hits. JP Herrholz had the lone extra-base knock, a double. Shelnut, Esquivel, and Rodriguez had an RBI, while Z. Marquis drove in two via the sacrifice flies.

Wiggs Wins

2022 is Coach Wiggs' 16th season at SF, and to this point he and the Saints have accomplished…

• A record of 500-230, for a winning percentage of 68.4
• Six consecutive trips to the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament, and 11 appearances in total
• Nine Mid-Florida Conference Championships
• 2 FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 State Championships
• A runner-up finish in 2009 at the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado

Wiggs' Words

"Even when at Polk State, it was always the goal to get back to Gainesville. My wife is from here, and of course I played here at Santa Fe and at the University of Florida. This is sort of a dream come true. This is what I always wanted to do, this is where I wanted to do it, and to be able to be here long enough to have success and win 500 games here is pretty cool."

Up Next

Santa Fe (16-13, 4-4 MFC) and the Falcons will play Game 2 of the Mid-Florida Conference series on Wednesday, Mar. 23. Coach Wiggs will be going for coaching win No. 700 in his career, which includes his eight seasons as Head Coach at Polk State College.