Santa Fe Baseball Wins After Suspended Play

By Perry Yalkut and Tyler Lightburn

On a rainy day in Gainesville, Fla., the Santa Fe Baseball Team took the field Friday afternoon. The game was suspended due to darkness and finished on Monday, Feb. 21 at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College prior to their previously scheduled matchup in Tifton, Ga. The No. 16 Saints pulled away with the victory, defeating ABAC 7-4 after strong performances from the team’s bats. Santa Fe played an additional game against ABAC, winning 10-7, moving to 10-6 on the season.

What Went Down

After a rain delay, the Saints started the game with an RBI single from Dylan Mock to open with a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st. ABAC quickly responded, tying up the ballgame at 1-1 going into the bottom of the 2nd. Santa Fe responded with a run of their own off a sacrifice fly from JP Herrholz to score Jacob Guthrie from second base, putting the Saints ahead 2-1.

Santa Fe increased its lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the 4th after a triple from Guthrie and a sacrifice fly from Zeb Marquis. Herrholz then launched a solo shot to get him his first home run of the season.

@santafesaints 1st baseman JP Herrholz hits a home run in the bottom of the 4th. pic.twitter.com/nYVxuDht2E

— Tyler Lightburn (@TylerLightburn) February 21, 2022

In the bottom of the 6th, the Saints padded their lead to 5-1 after an error from the Stallions. Santa Fe then went up 7-1 after a two-run home run from Zeb Marquis. The Stallions were not out of it yet however as they scored three runs in the top of the 8th to cut the lead to 7-4, prolonging the result and extended play to Monday at ABAC due to darkness.

On Monday, the Stallions loaded the bases in the top of the 9th with the go-ahead run at the plate. Jake Blair then entered to pitch, closing the game off with two back-to-back strikeouts to stop the comeback. despite extended play, the Saints defeated the ABAC Stallions after a thrilling finish.

@santafesaints wins 7-4 versus @ABAC_College pic.twitter.com/6TXZmgbPla

— Tyler Lightburn (@TylerLightburn) February 21, 2022

Notable Stats

Trent Becker earned another win for the Saints, moving to 3-0 on the season through six innings, one earned run, nine hits allowed and five strikeouts.

Jake Blair earned his first save of the season to preserve the win.

Both teams were strong at the plate, combining for 28 total hits. ABAC netted 16 while Santa Fe earned 12.

Zeb Marquis and JP Herrholz each scored their first home runs of the season.

Jacob Guthrie also had a big game, hitting a double and a triple for the Saints.

Coming Up

After winning the first game in Tifton, Ga, Santa Fe pulled off another win against ABAC later Monday afternoon by a score of 10-7. Gabriel Esquivel finished the game with a cycle for the Saints. Santa Fe has now won three straight and will look to continue its winning streak as they host Polk State College at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 23.