Ft. Pierce, FL - On Saturday, the Saints traveled to Ft. Pierce to take on the nation's number four team Indian River State College. The Pioneers have only six losses on the year, with one of those coming at the hands of the Saints back on March 24^th when the Saints split a doubleheader with Indian River. The rematch in Ft. Pierce, however, seemed to be a pitchers' duel in comparison to the matchup in Gainesville nearly a month ago. The Saints lost both Game 1 and Game 2 by only one run and combined to limit the River to three total runs in the two games. In March, the matchup saw both teams push runs across the plate at will. The Saints' record moves to 25-13 in the Citrus Conference and 34-19 overall.

How It Happened – Game 1

Santa Fe gave up a run in the bottom of the second to Indian River but were able to answer quickly in the top of the third as Sydney Fowler homered to left field. She also led the Saints' hitting efforts with two hits. The Saints outhit the Pioneers, recording four total hits while Indian River was able to collect only two hits. 

In what turned out to be a strong defensive effort by both teams, the Saints were stellar in the field behind Mallory Forrester. They committed no errors and Forrester was able to strike out four IRSC batters in six innings. 

The score remained deadlocked at 1-1 until the bottom of the fifth, when Sarah Phipps of Indian River earned a double with a runner already in scoring position. The Saints responded well and were able to get runners into scoring position, but were unable to push them across in the top of the sixth or seventh. Two runs is all it took for The Pioneers to claim the victory in Game 1.

How It Happened – Game 2

Santa Fe pitcher Ryleigh Bauer again showed up strong in the circle for Game 2. She pitched the complete game and took the loss against the Citrus Conference's second place team, Indian River. Bauer struck out two and had a solid outing. The battle of the two top 20 teams in the nation didn't disappoint as the Saints made the fourth ranked team sweat until a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth moved a run across for the only run of the game.    

The Saints couldn't get much going offensively against Gendron, who took the start in Game 2 for Indian River. The Saints did record four hits as Sophia Davis led the way with two of those four hits. 

The Saints finished the day 0-2 and finished the season series with Indian River by winning one of four games. The Saints are now 34-19 overall and 25-13 and in fourth place in the conference heading into a doubleheader at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa on Tuesday. The Saints will complete the year with a matchup at Miami Dade on Thursday and at home versus the Sharks on Saturday. 

Up Next at Santa Fe

On Saturday, April 27^th, the Saints will play Miami Dade at 12:00PM and 2:00PM EDT in their last home doubleheader of the year.