GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Santa Fe Baseball sprayed hits all over the SF Baseball Field on Friday afternoon, getting their second run-rule win of the season over the St. Johns River State College Vikings, 13-3 in six innings.

The Saints led just 4-3 after four innings of play, but the bats broke the game open in the last two innings to make it a final.

The first two batters of the game for SJR had hits, and the Vikings went ahead 1-0.

SF took a 2-1 lead in their first at-bats, with consecutive RBI doubles from Gabriel Esquivel and Santiago Garavito.

The game featured some sparkling defensive plays, with one particular highlight from Jevin Relaford at shortstop to end the second.

After SJR tied it at 2-2 in the top of third, the Saints went right back in front in the home half, 4-2 on a two-run Esquivel shot that cleared the left-center field fence.

The Vikings tacked on what would be their third and final run of the game in the fourth off starter Garfield Johns, but the left-hander struck out swinging the final two SJR batters in the frame to strand two baserunners.

The Saints bats were quiet in the fourth, but then put up a crooked number with seven runs in the bottom of the fifth. SF batted around, and the inning featured four hits, two walks, and two Vikings errors. Jacob Guthrie had an RBI double, Esquivel had two singles, and Tyler Shelnut cranked a three-run jack that brought the score to 11-3.

After a 1-2-3 inning from Johns, SF put the finishing touches on the matchup in the sixth. Wyatt Campbell got things started with a one-out single, but SJR got the second out with a fielders choice. Billy Graham pinch hit and doubled to put runners on second and third, bringing up pinch hitter JP Herrholz to do the honors. His single walked the game off and plated the final two runs in the 13-3 victory, the Saints' seventh win in their last eight outings.

Key Statistics

The Saints' offense continued to produce, and SF has now scored nine or more runs in six consecutive games.

Seven of the Saints' 13 hits went for extra-bases, and 10 of the 13 runs were driven in.

Some hitting streaks continued, as Shelnut's reached nine, Garavito's and Guthrie's seven, and Esquivel's six.

Esquivel and Shelnut proved once again why they are one of the nation's most lethal duos with their powerful bats. The first baseman Esquivel has now homered in five straight games and sits atop the NJCAA with his 14 home runs on the year. On Friday, he was just a triple shy of the cycle, and finished 4-of-4 with three RBI and two runs scored.

Shelnut is not far behind with 12 home runs on the season to rank No. 5 in the NJCAA, and the UF Gator commit went 2-of-5 with three runs scored and three RBI.

From the mound, Johns improved his record to 4-1 with the complete game. He scattered seven hits, allowed three earned runs, just one walk, and struck out five.

Up Next

Santa Fe (21-14, 9-5 MFC) hopes to continue their form going into a key Mid-Florida Conference series with receiving votes College of Central Florida (26-13, 12-2 MFC), the current MFC leader. The Saints currently sit behind them in the No. 2 spot in the standings.

SF and the Patriots will first play on Sunday, Apr. 3 at 1:00 p.m. in Ocala, Fla., after the two teams postponed Saturday's play due to forecasted weather.