No. 1 Southeastern Explodes Offensively to Sweep Edward Waters in Non-Conference Doubleheader
LAKELAND, Fla. – On a day where the Fire totaled 35 hits on 29 hits in just 12 innings of play, the No. 1 Southeastern University baseball team powered its way past the Edward Waters College Tigers in a doubleheader sweep. SEU notched a 20-9 win in game one before cruising to a 15-2 win in the second contest.
GAME ONE
The Fire found themselves at a 3-0 deficit to the Tigers heading to the bottom of the second. In that frame, SEU pulled ahead 4-3 with a four-run spurt on two hits and two errors.
After EWC answered back with two runs in the top of the third to regain the lead 5-4, SEU belted its way past the Tigers with a seven-run inning in the bottom of the frame to take an 11-5 lead.
In the bottom of the third, the Fire blasted four home runs. A solo home run by Ivan Nunez, two-run shot by Carlos Viera, and solo homers by Manuel Mesa and Abdel Guadalupe were the SEU long balls in the frame.
The Fire piled on more runs in the bottom of the fifth, plating six runs on six hits. Four of those runs were driven in off the bat of Adam De La Cruz, who belted a grand slam home run with no outs in the inning.
Carlos Viera finished game one a perfect 4-4 at the plate with five runs batted in.
Junior right-handed pitcher Alec Thomas picked up his first win in an SEU uniform, striking out six Tigers in his three innings of work.
The 20 runs scored by SEU marked the first time the Fire had hit the 20-run mark since defeating Tougaloo 22-3 on February 9, 2016.
GAME TWO
For the fifth-straight game, the Fire conceded the opening run of the contest.
Edward Waters struck first in the top of the third, bringing two runs across.
The Fire responded in the bottom half of the frame with a historic performance at the plate.
SEU plated an astounding 13 runs in the bottom of the third off eight hits, four walks, and two EWC errors.
Guadalupe notched his second home run of the day to get the big inning started for the Fire, a grand slam homer over the center field fence.
In the next at-bat, Nunez smashed his second long-ball of the day, a solo homer to left field.
Viera pushed his doubleheader RBI total to eight with a double to center field and a sacrifice fly later in the bottom of the fifth.
Mike Taylor Jr. and Willie Estrada also picked up RBIs in the big inning for SEU.
The 13 runs scored in the third frame were the most scored by Southeastern in a single inning since the Fire plated 24 runs in the bottom of the first against Valley Forge Christian on March 11, 2010. The 13 runs were also more than the Fire have plated in an entire game in 22 of their last 24 contests.
After five innings of play, the game was called final due to inclement weather in the area.
SEU looks to continue building early season success in Sun Conference play, as the Fire travel to the University of South Carolina Beaufort for a weekend series. The Fire commence the series with the Sand Sharks in a Friday doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.