SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo baseball team evened its Sunshine State Conference series with Rollins College after an 8-4 victory at home Thursday afternoon. Redshirt senior Jimmy Burnette pitched 7.0 strong innings on the mound and the Lions found their offensive rhythm to down the visiting Tars avenging a 4-2 loss from the previous afternoon.
 
Burnette struck out 10 batters while walking just three. He scattered six hits and saw two runs cross the plate en route to his first victory in a Lions' uniform. He sat the Tars down in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings as he seemed to get stronger on the mound as the game went along.
 
Redshirt senior Danny Torres and sophomore Yazael Nunez each went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the Lions offensively while redshirt senior Jake Vander Wal connected on his fifth home run of the season to lead the team with three RBI. Nunez picked up a double and a run scored while Torres scored twice and hit the team's first triple of the season while also driving in a run and earning a walk. Vander Wal was 1-for-3 with a walk, a home run, three RBI and a run scored.
 
Burnette was relieved on the mound by redshirt senior Jeremy Peel who pitched the eighth while allowing two runs off of two hits while earning one strikeout. Senior closer McCabe Sargent came on in the ninth and allowed just one hit while closing out the game.
 
The Lions struck in the very first inning as Torres led off the bottom of the inning with a single to centerfield. Senior Sam Crail then drew his team-high ninth walk of the season setting the table for Vander Wal. Vander Wal launched a towering home run over the right field fence to plate all three runs giving the Lions an early advantage.
 
The Tars responded with a lead-off solo home run in the second followed by a single but Burnette settled things down with a strikeout, caught stealing and a fly out to end the inning. After a scoreless third, the Tars plated their second run of the game in the fourth as a single and two wild pitches put a runner on third with one out. Another single through the right side plated the second run of the game for the Tars cutting their deficit to 3-2. Once again Burnette settled things down and picked up back-to-back groundouts to end the inning.
 
The Lions offense responded again in the bottom half of the inning as redshirt junior Adrien Roa led off with a single. After a flyout and a walk, redshirt junior PJ Barry laced a single through the left side to plate Roa and move junior Eddie Niemann III to second. After a sacrifice bunt moved runners to second and third a wild pitch and a balk plated two more runs for the Lions opening up a 6-2 advantage.
 
Burnette sat down the Tars in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings before the Lions offense found some more runs in the bottom of the seventh. After a lead-off fly out, Nunez sent a single through the left side and was followed up by an RBI triple from Torres which went to deep right center. Torres would score during the next at bat on a wild pitch for the Lions final run of the game, 8-2.
 
The Tars would mount a small comeback in the eighth as an pinch hitter reached on a one-out single and was followed up by a home run to right center scoring two runs. Peel was able to get the next batter out with a groundout to first and he struck out the final batter of the inning looking.
 
The Lions and Tars will return to the diamond tomorrow, April 2 at 2 p.m. as they return to Winter Park for the final game of the three-game set.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo baseball team be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
 
Keeping Our Lions Healthy & Safe
Saint Leo University Athletics is keeping our student-athletes healthy and safe by following a number of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This includes having student-athletes tested or screened on a regular basis, traveling in smaller groups, holding competitions without fans in attendance, avoiding overnight trips, and wearing masks when not competing. These safety standards meet those set by the NCAA Division II and the Sunshine State Conference President's Council. At Saint Leo University, the COVID-19 Incident Command Team also reviews the teams' safety protocol and monitors adherence on a regular basis.