SAINTS COME FROM BEHIND AGAINST FSC-J FOR SEVENTH STRAIGHT VICTORY

March 31, 2010

March 31, 2010 Contact: Scott Jamison 352-395-5616 scott.jamison@sfcollege.edu

SF BASEBALL

SAINTS COME FROM BEHIND AGAINST FSC-J FOR SEVENTH STRAIGHT VICTORY

Gainesville, FL – The Santa Fe Saints (18-12, 9-5 MFC) fell behind 6-0 in the early going but a stout bullpen and some timely hitting brought the Saints back to capture their seventh straight Mid-Florida Conference win.  The victory moves the Saints into a tie with Lake Sumter (18-15, 9-5 MFC) for first place in the MFC.  SF has scored 76 runs over their seven game winning streak.  BOX SCORE

“I'm really proud of the guys for sticking with it and coming back,” said Coach Johnny Wiggs.  “To stay in a game like this, you have to have your bullpen get some shutout innings and Barnes, Pitts and Turner did an excellent job of that today.”

Florida State College-Jacksonville jumped on Saints starting pitcher Ken Wise in the first inning, scoring two runs on two hits.  The Stars scored three more in the second off of Wise and relief pitcher Daryl Barnes.  Barnes settled in from there and shut out FSC-J over the next four innings, allowing the Santa Fe offense to get the team back in the game.

The Saints trailed 6-0 going into the fourth inning, but a Mike Miranda two run homerun cut the lead to 6-2.  TJ Spina and Miranda hit RBI singles in the fifth inning to cut into the lead even further, making it 6-4.

Corey Turner took the hill in the seventh inning and got two quick outs before turning the ball over to Ory Pitts (3-3) who put away the last Star batter in the inning.

Brett Bozeman led off the eighth with a single and Ricky Claudio singled to trim the lead to 6-5.  The next batter Joe Clouse tied the game with an RBI single.  With two outs, Austin Lawrence doubled to deep center to bring in the seventh run for SF and TJ Spina gave the Saints an insurance run with an RBI single one batter later.

Pitts (pictured) closed out the game with a scoreless ninth for his third win of the year.

Spina finished 3-for-4 with two RBI, Miranda was 2-for-4 with a homerun and three RBI (11 HR, 52 RBI on the year), Bozeman was 3-for-4 and Claudio finished 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.

The Saints will have a few days off before returning to the field on Monday for a game in Sanford against Seminole State College at 3:00pm.

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.

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