DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Santa Fe Baseball went on the road and won their third straight game in Mid-Florida Conference play, handing Head Coach Johnny Wiggs his 700th career coaching win.

It was the second consecutive game in which Wiggs has reached a milestone, after winning his 500th game as the Head Coach of the Saints on Monday, Mar. 21.

SF went ahead with a single run in the second inning, then added two more in the third. Tyler Shelnut had a two-RBI double to bring in Wyatt Campbell and Xavier Moronta.

The lead grew to 5-0 in the fifth when Shelnut struck again, belting a two-run homer, once again scoring Moronta who had reached on a single. Shelnut's long ball was his ninth of the season, tying Gabriel Esquivel for the team-high, and he has now gone yard four out of the last six games played.

Zeb Marquis' RBI single in the sixth plated JP Herrholz, who led off the inning with a double, and the Saints' lead was 6-0.

Daytona State's lone run of the game came on a solo home run in the sixth, but that was the lone blemish for SF starter Lance Bolton, who was in control all day long from the mound.

Eight different Saints came to the plate in the top of the seventh inning, as SF scored three to invoke the run-rule with an eight-run lead. Esquivel's RBI single and Santiago Garavito's RBI double highlighted the inning.  

The Falcons loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh with no outs in their hopes to stay alive, but Jacob Lauderdale worked his way out of the jam to record the final three outs with two strikeouts and a flyout.

Key Statistics

The Saints' bats bashed Daytona State's pitching to the tune of 11 hits, five of which went for extra-bases. Shelnut, Moronta, Garavito, and Z. Marquis each had two hits, with Shelnut's double and home run driving in a team-high four RBI. Marquis had three RBI.

Bolton's win improved his record to 2-2 on the mound, and he went six innings of quality strike-throwing. Bolton's final line included just two hits, the solo home run, no walks, and seven strikeouts. Lauderdale regrouped in the seventh to post the zero, striking out two.

The pitching staff had no walks, and it was the second straight error-free game.

To reach 700, Wiggs has had success at each of his two stops with FCSAA/NJCAA Region VIII programs, winning 199 games in his eight seasons at Polk State College prior to beginning his tenure at Santa Fe. He is in the midst of his 16th season at SF, and overall, he holds a record of 700-419 for a winning percentage of 62.5 percent.

Up Next

Santa Fe (17-13, 5-4 MFC) concludes the three-game set with the Falcons on Friday, Mar. 25 at 1:00 p.m. at the SF Baseball Field.