Clearwater, FL

On Wednesday, the Santa Fe College Saints Softball team traveled to Clearwater, FL to take on the Indian River State College Pioneers in the FCSAA Tournament at Eddie C. Moore Complex. The matchup is the fifth time the two NJCAA top twenty teams have played this season, and #7 Indian River State College beat the #20 Santa Fe Saints 3-1 in the last matchup of the day at the FCSAA Region VIII tournament. 

How It Happened

Both teams started slow in the batters box, but Juliann Smith got the bats going in the top of the second with a triple for Santa Fe. The Saints weren't able to push her across, however, and stranded her on base. Then, in the top of the third, Jayla Clark started the Saints off with a single, Anna Burnside struck out, Sydney Fowler singled, and Karris Rhine walked to load the bases. The Saints were not able though to move any of the runners across and stranded all three. Santa Fe remained poised and locked in as the game was knotted at zero heading into the bottom of the fourth. Indian River matched the Saints' triple with one of their own, and with a sacrifice fly they finished the fourth up 1-0. The Pioneers pushed two more across in the bottom of the fifth, and the Saints answered with a run in the top of the sixth, but their momentum didn't produce any more than that. The final score was 3-1 in favor of #7 Indian River State College.

Mallory Forrester started in the circle for the Saints, recording 4.2 innings and finishing with four strikeouts. Ryleigh Bauer came in to pitch an inning and a third in relief and gave up no runs and no hits. Smith led the Saints with two hits while Clark and Fowler each collected a single as well. 

The Saints will look to bounce back in Thursday's matchup versus Eastern Florida State College. The game is at 1:00PM EDT at the Eddie C. Moore Complex and will be an elimination game for both teams. The winner will proceed to play Friday at 10:00AM EDT. The Saints are one of six teams in the NJCAA Region VIII tournament who are ranked in the top 20 in the last NJCAA poll, so the tournament is stacked with talent. 

The Saints are now 39-21 on the season and will look to get back on track Thursday in the matchup against Citrus Conference foe Eastern Florida State. The Saints finished in fourth while the Titans finished in fifth in the conference. The Saints won three out of the four conference games versus Eastern Florida this season.

Up Next for Santa Fe

On Thursday, May 9^th, the Saints will remain in Clearwater, Florida to face off against Eastern Florida State College at 1:00PM EDT.

Fans can watch online by using this link or by going to the season schedule and clicking on the video option next to the date of the matchup.