Claudio Tosses No Hitter, Earns Save and Homers in Saints Route of St. John's, 9-0 and 9-1

March 14, 2013

SF FASTPITCH - 3/14/2013

Gainesville, FL – The Santa Fe Saints were at the top of their game on Thursday afternoon, winning two convincing games over MFC rival St. John's River State College 9-0 and 9-1.

Karla Claudio was again stellar in the circle, tossing a no hitter in game one, striking out 11 batters in the five inning mercy rule win.  The only runner to reach base did so on an error.

The Saints (15-10, 4-0 MFC) put five runs on the board in the second inning, giving Claudio more than enough to work with.  Capitini plated two runs in the inning with a RBI single, Celeste Bradshaw smacked a two RBI double and Galis Lozada hit a double to the fence to score a run.  All five runs came with two outs.

Megan McDonald put the sixth run on the board in the third inning when she blasted a deep homerun to center field.  In the fourth Santa Fe added three more on RBi by Sid Masso and Geena Capitini and Claudio pitched a perfect fifth to end the game in a mercy rule.

In game two Amber Maxey started in the circle and pitched 4.1 innings to earn the win.  Claudio pitched in relief to earn the save.  She also helped her own cause when she broke open the game with a two run homerun in the  fifth inning to put SF ahead 4-1.

The Saints put the game away in the sixth, scoring five runs to force another mercy rule.  Rachel Hoeft let the frame off with a homerun that landed on the batting cages in left field and Megan McDonald put the final touches on the sweep with a RBI single for the ninth run later in the inning.  Layne McDermond had two RBI in the inning, Claudio knocked one in on a groundout and Lozada pushed one across with a single to center.

Claudio finished the day offensively 2-for-5 with three RBI, a double, a homerun and two walks.  Geena Capitini was 4-for-7 with a double and three RBI, Rachel Hoeft was 3-for-6 with a homerun, Galis Lozada was 3-for-7 with two RBI, and Erin Marsh was 2-for-5 with four runs scored and three walks.

The Saints continue their current home stand on Friday against Georgia Military Academy at 2:00 PM and on Saturday against Seminole State College at 1:00 PM.

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

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