GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Santa Fe Baseball was closing in on a series sweep of Daytona State College, but the Falcons improbably stormed back and held off the Saints in the final innings to come out on top in a slugfest on the SF Baseball Field, 10-9.

With the wind blowing out, the game featured five home run, four of which came off the bats of the Saints, but the Falcons' offense had the final say to mount their comeback.

A three-run home run from DSC in the first inning put the Falcons in front early.

SF plated a single run in the bottom of the second, and then tied it at 3-3 in the bottom of the third with back-to-back home runs from Jake McKee and Tyler Shelnut.

The Saints brought in four runs in the fourth to take a 7-3 advantage. Jacob Guthrie singled to lead off the big inning, then scored on turned double-play by the Falcons on a Dylan Mock groundout.

Shelnut struck again however with his second home run of the game, this time a two-out, three-run bomb.

The Falcons were able to cut their deficit in half with two runs in the fifth, which was answered by two more runs from the Saints in the bottom of the sixth to push the lead back to four, 9-5. Gabriel Esquivel reached double-digits with his tenth home run, a two-run shot.

The Saints had the lead dissipate as Daytona State was able to stun SF with a five-spot in the eighth inning, claiming the 10-9 advantage after a sacrifice fly.

Santa Fe had plenty of opportunities to tie or take the lead in the eighth and ninth, but each of them was squandered. In the bottom of the eighth, the bases were loaded with no outs, but DSC escaped the jam with three consecutive strikeouts from the mound.

The tying run was at second base with one out in the ninth, but back-to-back flyouts helped Daytona State salvage a game in the first three-game set between the two sides.

Key Statistics

The game had a combined 24 hits and 16 walks, as baserunners were aplenty in the back-and-forth affair.

Shelnut was 2-of-4 with two runs and four RBI, with both of his hits clearing the fence. The second baseman continued his torrid pace from the plate, and he has now homered in five of his last seven games for a total of seven long balls.  

Esquivel, Guthrie, and Wyatt Campbell had two hits apiece alongside Shelnut, while Esquivel and McKee each had homers.

Garfield Johns started from the mound for the Saints' pitching staff, giving way to Tobin Moran, Jalen Hudson, and then Jake Blair. Hudson was charged with the loss out of the bullpen.

Up Next

Santa Fe (17-14, 5-5 MFC) will remain on their home field for the start of a new series with Lake-Sumter State College on Saturday, Mar. 26 at 1:00 p.m.