Clearwater, FL

On Thursday, May 9th, the Santa Fe College Saints softball team took on the Eastern Florida State College Titans in the FCSAA Tournament at Eddie C. Moore Complex. The matchup is the fifth time the #20 Saints and Titans have played this season. The Saints won three of four games against the Titans in the regular season.

How It Happened

After coming in last night as the relief pitcher, Ryleigh Bauer started today's game against the Eastern Florida Titans. Bauer walked the first batter of the game, followed by a single up the middle. A sacrifice bunt by the Titans would advance the runners to second and third, and another single up the middle brought in both runners to give the Titans an early 2-0 lead. Bauer walked another batter to give the Titans runners at first and second with one out, and the Saints switched pitchers, bringing in Mallory Forrester. Forrester walked her first batter, bringing up a bases loaded jam with one out. The Saints escaped this jam with a popout followed by a strikeout.

Karris Rhine hit a double in the bottom of the first but was left stranded. The Saints did not allow a run in the second inning after a Forrester pitch hit a batter. Sydney Fowler, who leads the country in doubles, hit a two-out double in the third inning. Rhine reached first and advanced Fowler to third, but both would be stranded on base with a groundout to end the inning. Madi Conway hit a leadoff single in the fourth inning, and Cloey O'Doniel advanced Conway with a sacrifice bunt. Alexis Daphney followed with a right-field single, and Gabrial Miles was hit by a pitch to create a bases loaded situation. Aliana Mercado hit a left-field single to bring in Conway, which cut the Saints deficit to 2-1. Eastern Florida forced a double play to end the inning. The Titans quickly took a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning with a leadoff single followed by a double. A two-out home run by the Titans extended their lead to 5-1. Fowler hit a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Saints ultimately fell short. Fowler led the Saints with two hits.

The final score was 5-2 in favor of the Eastern Florida State College Titans.

The #20 Saints are now 39-22 and will hope to receive an at-large National Championship berth. The bracket and matchups for the National Championship will be announced on the NJCAA Network on Tuesday, May 14th at 11:00AM ET.