No. 8 Baseball Outlasts Indian River, 8-7 in 11 Innings
May 6, 2021

No. 8 Baseball Outlasts Indian River, 8-7 in 11 Innings

Photos Video Box Score
LAKELAND, Fla. – No. 8 Santa Fe Baseball got past Indian River State College in an extra-inning marathon at the FCSAA State Tournament, winning 8-7 on a walkoff single from Xavier Moronta.
 
The game between the Saints and Pioneers was an elimination game, and Santa Fe kept their season alive and secured their spot into the 4:00 p.m. game on Friday, May 7 at Joker Marchant Stadium. 
 
TOP 2ND - IRSC 2, SF 0
The Pioneers jumped ahead with two runs. After back-to-back doubles off Saints starter Mitchell Gross and a baserunner advancing to third, the second run came across on a sacrifice fly.
 
BOTTOM 2ND - IRSC 2, SF 1 
Santa Fe got on the scoreboard to cut their deficit in half. Armando Albert stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, and his hit-by-pitch plated Xavier Moronta. 
 
TOP 3RD - IRSC 3, SF 1 
Indian River started the inning well from the dish, and another RBI double established the 3-1 advantage for the Pioneers.
 
BOTTOM 3RD - SF 6, IRSC 3
It didn't take long for the Saints to respond, however, as SF produced a big five-run inning to take their first lead.
 
Moronta had a double to right-center field that scored Luis Rodriguez, and after a Bret Madren walk, the bases were loaded. 
 
Santiago Garavito proceeded to walk in a run as well, tying the game at 3-3 and forcing an Indian River pitching change. 
 
With two outs and the bases loaded, Albert came through in the clutch with a bases clearing double to the gap in left-center field.
 
TOP 6TH - SF 6, IRSC 5 
Both teams went scoreless in the fourth and fifth frames, and Gross stranded a baserunner in the fifth with a 5-4-3 double play and strikeout. 
 
The Pioneers, however, brought home two runs off Gross in the sixth with a two-RBI single to draw to within a single score. After Gross got a K, he gave way to Tyler Shelnut, who preserved the lead with a lineout to center field. 
 
TOP 7TH - SF 6, IRSC 6
The game was knotted up at 6-6, after the Pioneers' first two batters reached safely. The run was manufactured on a play when the Saints attempted to turn two. 
 
Shelnut got out of the trouble with two strikeouts to keep the game tied. 
 
TOP 9TH - IRSC 7, SF 6
With one out already recorded and Shelnut still being effective on the mound, the Pioneers took the lead with back-to-back doubles.
 
BOTTOM 9TH - SF 7, IRSC 7
With the Saints' backs up against the wall, Rodriguez crushed a no-doubt homer to left-center field to leadoff the inning and tie the contest at seven runs apiece.
 
 
BOTTOM 11TH - SF 8, IRSC 7
Shelnut was impressive to post zeros in the tenth and eleventh from the mound, setting the stage for the Saints' bats to produce the final run that was needed.
 
Santa Fe did just that. Dylan Mock reached on a throwing error from the shortstop that brought the first baseman off the bag, and Gabriel Esquivel was then plunked.
 
Moronta was next up, and after a great at-bat, he took a 3-2 pitch and turned on it, finding a gap in the right side of the infield for the walkoff that brought in Mock.
 
 
Key Statistics
Santa Fe finished with ten hits in the game. Three of them came off the bat of Moronta, who went 3-of-5 with two RBI, a run scored, and the 11th inning heroics. 
 
Rodriguez and Esquivel each had two hits, with Rodriguez's game-tying home run in the ninth representing his tenth long ball of the season.
 
Albert was 1-of-3 with four RBI, and Garavito had an RBI as well.
 
On the hill, Gross went 5.2 IP, allowing ten hits, five earned runs, and one walk while striking out three. 
 
Shelnut was the winning pitcher. throwing the final 5.1 innings while holding IRSC to four hits, two earned runs, and two walks. He notched five strikeouts. 
 
Wigg's Words
"Of course I was really proud of the guys for hanging in there. I called it a war of attrition toward the end, everyone was getting pretty tired and overheated. We had some big at-bats today. Rodriguez's 9th inning home run to tie it up was huge of course. Gross really battled in his innings, and we got more pitches than we've ever gotten out of Shelnut in relief. Moronta had a great day, and I'm just proud of the guys. We're really glad to still be in this tournament and have the opportunity to play tomorrow to see how deep we can get into this thing."
 
Up Next
No. 8 Santa Fe (30-12) will now advance in the FCSAA State Tournament to play on Friday, May 7 at 4:00 p.m. The Saints will face the loser of No. 20 Miami Dade and Pensacola State College, who play at approximately 7:00 p.m. tonight.