SAINTS FALL TO POLK STATE DESPITE MIRANDA’S GRAND SLAM

February 24, 2010

February 24, 2010 Contact: Scott Jamison 352-395-5616 scott.jamison@sfcollege.edu

SF BASEBALL

SAINTS FALL TO POLK STATE DESPITE MIRANDA’S GRAND SLAM

Gainesville, FL – The Santa Fe Saints (8-7) jumped out to an 8-0 lead on the strength of a Mike Miranda grand slam, but couldn’t hold off the charging Polk State College “Vikings” who scored 10 unanswered runs in route to the come from behind victory.

Starting pitcher Gary Merians pitched six strong innings, giving up four runs, only two of them earned.  The Saints bullpen struggled in relief, surrendering six runs on 10 hits on three innings of work.  Ory Pitts (2-1) took the loss for SF.

The Saints scored one run in the first on a passed ball and another run in the second inning on an RBI single by Ricky Claudio.

In the third inning, SF put six runs on the board, the first four on a grand slam by Mike Miranda (5) and the next two on a double by Joe Clouse.

Despite being down by eight, Polk refused to give up and slowly fought back, scoring one run in the fourth, one in the fifth, two in the sixth, two in the seventh and four in the eighth to take the lead.

SF managed one run in the eighth and in the ninth had a runner on third with one out, but couldn’t push the tying run across the plate.

The Saints had 12 hits as a team, but committed four costly errors. 

Joe Clouse led the team in hits, going 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI, Austin Lawrence and TJ Spina were each 2-for-4, Ricky Claudio was 2-for-5 and Miranda was 1-for-4 with a grand slam and four RBI, giving him 29 on the season.

The Saints next game will be on Friday at home against Tallahassee at 3:00pm.  The three game series will continue on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 12:00pm.

For complete schedules and more information on Saints Baseball, please visit santafesaints.com.  To see game photos and other updates, follow Santa Fe College Athletics on Facebook.