LAKELAND, Fla. – After winning both games of the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) doubleheader versus Florida Southern on Friday evening, the seventh-ranked Saint Leo baseball team tallied a series sweep as the Lions won game one 7-3 before earning a 9-3 victory in game two.
Game One: #7 Saint Leo 7, Florida Southern 3
The Lions jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage in the second inning as sophomore
Amai Rivera-Martinez and graduate student
Luke Houin crossed home plate followed by junior
Ryan Robinson stealing home for a score and sophomore
Dylan Mass driving in senior
Caleb Adams on a single to right field. The Mocs trimmed its deficit to 4-2 after scoring and run in the bottom of the second and fourth. In the seventh, Mass blasted a solo homer to right field to extend the Lions edge to 5-2. Florida Southern answered with a groundout RBI in the eighth before being held at bay for the remainder of the game. Saint Leo plated a pair of runs in the ninth as Robinso scored on a throwing error followed by junior
Dylan McDonald knocking in Rivero with a double to left field.
On the mound, freshman
Russell Sandefer started for the Lions and registered five strikeouts while only allowing three runs on seven hits in 7.0 innings to collect the win. In relief, junior
Jacob Young earned the save as he held the Mocs lineup to just one hit in 1.1 innings.
Mass finished the game with three hits in five at-bats with two RBI. Rivera-Martinez notched two hits and scored once. Robinson went 1-for-4 at the dish and rounded the bases twice while driving in a run.
Game Two: #7 Saint Leo 9, Florida Southern 3
Senior
Mikey Scott kickstarted the Green and Gold offense in game two with an RBI-single to the left side, the Mocs tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom half of the first with a single through the left side. In the third, Scott plated graduate student
Buck Anderson with a single to left field to give the Lions a 2-1 edge. Rivero drove in junior
Nick Yedman with a single followed by Scott launching a solo jack to left field in the fifth as Saint Leo held a 4-1 margin. Graduate student
Zach Benson recorded an RBI-double to center field before Yedman and McDonald pushed the Lions advantage to 7-1 in the seventh with a sacrifice-fly from each. Graduate student
Giuseppe Arcuri posted an RBI-double to left field before classmate
Yazael Nunez drove in a run with a single to center field, 9-1. The Mocs tallied a pair of runs in the eighth before being held scoreless for the rest of the game.
Senior
Luke Lashutka tied his career-high on nine strikeouts as he allowed just one run on five hits in 6.0 innings to improve to 8-0 this year.
Scott went a perfect 4-for-4 at the dish with a trio of RBI and scored twice. Nunez collected three hits and one RBI while Robinson went 2-for-4 and scored once. Benson and Arcuri recorded one hit and one RBI.
Saint Leo returns to the field on Tuesday, April 2 as it travels to take on Rollins in a non-conference bout at 5 p.m.
