SEU Baseball Notches Two Wins Versus Crusaders

LAKELAND, Fla.—The top-ranked Fire baseball team collected a pair of wins over RV Madonna University Friday by scores of 15-3 and 2-0, respectively. With the victories, SEU moved to 13-2 on the season.
Southeastern’s offense exploded in the first game of the doubleheader, as the Fire scored multiple runs each of the first five times they batted.
Noah Strohl opened the scoring with a double that scored Ivan Nunez in the bottom of the first. Abdel Guadalupe then brought Strohl around with an RBI single to make it 2-0 after one.
Following a sacrifice fly by Mike Taylor Jr. that scored Carlos Viera, Nunez doubled in two more, extending the Fire advantage to five through two innings.
In the third, a no-doubt three-run home run from Willie Estrada cleared the left field fence to put SEU up 8-0.
Five SEU players ended the first contest with multiple hits. Dan Valerio led the way with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate, while Estrada went 2-4 with four RBIs. Strohl and Nunez each scored twice and plated multiple runs themselves.
After Madonna cut into the deficit with three runs in the top of the fourth, Southeastern responded with its third consecutive three-run inning to extend the lead to eight once again.
Estrada plated Dominic Anagnos following the senior’s two-out double. Guadalupe and Viera, who ended the game with four stolen bases, also came around to score in the fourth thanks to Crusader miscues.
In the fifth, the Fire capped off the massive win with a pair of two-run bombs. Strohl cranked a shot to right center that scored Nunez, while Valerio crushed a ball over the fence in left center after Guadalupe had been hit by a pitch.
Felix Dieguez kept the Crusaders’ bats quiet, holding MU to just a single hit as the Fire easily captured the contest 15-3. Dieguez ended the day striking out 11 of the 24 batters he faced through six innings.
In game two, Keven Long pitched a gem as well, surrendering only two hits through six innings. The junior did a solid job of pitching to contact as he forced eight fly outs and six ground outs in addition to his three strikeouts.
Manuel Mesa provided all the help Long would need with a lead-off homerun to right center in the first at-bat of the game. Mesa would then plate Guadalupe on an infield single in the second. The senior was responsible for two of SEU’s five hits in the latter contest, driving in both runs in the 2-0 game.
With the win, Long improved to 3-0 on the year.
Southeastern and Madonna will face each other in another doubleheader at Ted A. Broer Stadium Saturday. First pitch of game one is set for Noon.