GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It was all smiles for Santa Fe Softball on Sophomore Day against Seminole State College, as the Saints were able to conclude the regular season with a sweep of the Raiders to finish No. 2 in the Mid-Florida Conference standings headed into postseason play.

Before the doubleheader, the Saints honored 12 second or third-year student-athletes: Abrianna Hickox, Adrianna Saavedra, Riley Schnyder, Taniah Bowers, Morgan Lebeda, Brooke Hackim, Sophie Abrams, Calen Hayes, Jayelyn Carter, Story Giebeig, Brianna Arsenault, and Madison Dixon.

The games did not disappoint the home crowd, as the Saints had two quality pitching performances and timely hitting to get past the Raiders and even the season series at 2-2.

GAME 1  - SF 4, SEMINOLE 1

The Raiders opened the day's scoring with a single run in the opening inning.

Santa Fe responded in the home half of the second, when Lebeda belted a no-doubt, two-run jack to center field to hand the Saints a 2-1 lead.

Giebeig and Keeli Zingaro had RBI singles in the third inning to bring the score to 4-1.

Darian Ingram was in control all game long from the circle and kept the Raiders' offense at bay to preserve the complete game win. Seminole State brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the seventh inning, but a flyout to left field sealed Game 1 and stranded three baserunners.

Key Statistics

Ingram (12-7) held the Raiders to just five hits in her complete game, which was her 11th of the season. She walked three batters and notched three strikeouts.

SF had five hits, with extra-base hits coming from Hickox with a double and Lebeda. Lebeda's long ball was her eighth of the season.

GAME 2  - SF 4, SEMINOLE 3

Game 2 featured plenty of twists and turns, with the two teams playing for the No. 2 seed in the MFC Tournament.

This time it was the Saints who struck first, bringing across two runs in the opening frame. SF didn't have a single hit but had one batter reach on an error and four others draw walks. Schnyder and Hickox had RBI free-passes, but after an early pitching change from Seminole, the Saints stranded the bases loaded with two strikeouts.

A two-out, two-run home run in the top of the fourth inning from Seminole State tied the ball game at 2-2.

The Raiders eventually took a lead at 3-2 in the fifth with another two-out hit off Sophie Abrams, this time a double to center field.

Abrams continued to throw well from the circle, however, and retired the Raiders in order in the sixth.

SF struck in the bottom half of that inning, starting with a leadoff home run from Giebeig to knot it up at 3-3. Schnyder walked in the next at-bat. After two hitters were retired, Arsenault pinch-hit and came through with a single up the middle to keep the inning alive.

Seminole State elected to make another pitching change with runners on first and second base, but the move came back to bite them. One wild pitch advanced the runners, and then yet another pitch got away to plate the go-ahead run.

It was anything but smooth sailing for SF in the top of the seventh, as Seminole State once again found production with two-outs. A single followed by a walk put two runners on, and then the Saints intentionally walked the next batter to load the bases.

Abrams continued to show a knack for leaving baserunners stranded, however, and got the final out with an unassisted groundout to Giebeig at third base for the win.  

Key Statistics

After the day's sweep, the Saints and the sophomores have compiled an impressive 40-5 record on their home field over the last two seasons.

Santa Fe improved to 31-17 on the season, matching last season's win total. 

SF had just three hits in the game but walked six times on their way to the four runs.

After surprisingly going nearly a month without clearing the wall, Giebeig's game-tying homer in the sixth was her team-high 11th of the season, and she chose a good time for it. Arsenault and Hickox had singles, and Schnyder walked twice.

Abrams' (12-7) final line included eight hits and three earned runs in the complete game, walking three and striking out five.

Up Next

Santa Fe (31-17, 13-7 MFC) has won seven of their last nine games headed into postseason play, and the sweep of the Raiders put themselves in position to host a series in the Mid-Florida Conference Tournament. As the No. 2 seed, SF will await the winner of the No. 3 seed Seminole State and the No. 4 seed St. Johns River.

The Saints will play the winner of that game at the SF Softball Field for a doubleheader set to be played on Thursday, Apr. 21. If the doubleheader is split, the third and decisive game will be played on Friday, Apr. 22 in Gainesville to determine who will receive a berth into the FCSAA State Tournament alongside Mid-Florida Conference Champion, College of Central Florida.