March 26, 2010 Contact: Scott Jamison 352.395.5616 scott.jamison@sfcollege.edu
SF BASEBALL
SAINTS BLAST SEVEN HOMERUNS IN ROUT OF LAKE SUMTER, 17-2
Gainesville, FL – The Santa Fe Saints (15-12, 6-5 MFC) played nearly flawless baseball on Friday afternoon, slugging seven homeruns, two by Ricky Claudio, to go along with a three hit pitching performance by Ken Wise (3-2). With the win, the Saints climb above .500 in the Mid-Florida Conference for the first time this season, and to within one game of Lake Sumter in the standings and 1.5 games of first place Daytona State.
“I’m proud of the way our hitters played today, they had an outstanding day at the plate,” said Coach Johnny Wiggs. “We were concerned with not having our leading RBI producer Mike Miranda out there today and we told the guys that we needed someone to step up. We got that and more from multiple players, especially Ricky.”
Ken Wise (3-2) pitched five innings to earn the win. He struck out eight and surrendered two runs on three hits and five walks.
Santa Fe struck early with three runs in the first inning. Jeff Moyer slugged a two run homer to give SF a 2-0 advantage and TJ Spina hit one two batters later for a 3-0 lead.
The Saints tacked on five more runs on three homeruns in the second inning. Jardian Thomas started the inning with a lead off HR, Nolan Malone was hit by a pitch and Zach Floyd hit a blast to right field. With two outs, Moyer kept the inning alive with a single and Brett Bozeman followed him with a two run shot over the right field fence, putting SF up 8-0 after two.
Saints outfielder Ricky Claudio scored the ninth run of the game in the third inning on a LSCC error.
SF continued to pour it on in the fourth inning with five more runs. Moyer walked to lead off, Bozeman singled and Spina walked to load the bases. Ricky Claudio stepped to the plate and on the first pitch hit a towering homerun to right field, clearing the bases for a grand slam. TJ Lawrence knocked in the other run with a single.
Claudio wasn’t finished yet and just one inning later connected on a three run shot to straight away center field, giving him a hit in three straight innings and seven RBI for the game.
Jake Stridfeldt and Kevin Welborn each pitched an inning of relief to close out the seven inning mercy rule victory.
The Saints piled up 17 hits as a team. Claudio led the offense with a 3-for-4 performance including two HR, three runs scored and seven RBI, Bozeman was 3-for-4 with a HR and two RBI, Moyer was 3-for-4 with a HR and two RBI, Jardian Thomas finished 2-for-4 with a HR, TJ Spina was 1-for-3 with a HR and three runs and Zach Floyd was 2-for-3 with a two run HR.
The Saints and Lakers will meet again tomorrow in Leesburg for a MFC match-up scheduled to start at 1:00pm.
For complete schedules and more information on Saints Baseball, please visit www.sfcollege.edu/athletics. To see game photos and other updates, follow Santa Fe College Athletics on Facebook.
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