The Santa Fe Saints came back from a 4-0 deficit to get a 5-4 win in the opener but Florida State College – Jacksonville won the nightcap of the Mid-Florida Conference openers for both teams in Gainesville Saturday afternoon.

In the opener, Emily Yakel got the Saints on the board with a solo homerun in the fourth to jump start the offense as the Saints rallied back with two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to get the win.  

"We managed to overcome another early deficit," said SF head coach Lindsay Fico. "Emily's homerun kicked off a great rally. Jolie and Siarra had back-to-back doubles in the sixth that proved crucial."

With the Saints trailing 4-3, Jolie Watson got the winning rally started with a one-out double to right-center and scored the tying run on a double by Siarra Navarro. Kaitlyn Bennett followed with a single, but Navarro was thrown out at the plate. Adriana Garip then laced a single to center with Bennett crossing the plate to give the Saints the 5-4 winning margin.

Meanwhile, Saints starter Gabi Mathre struggled through a four-run first inning but settled in to pitch shutout ball the rest of the way allowing just one hit.

"A switch flipped with Gabi after the first inning and she threw a great game the rest of the way allowing us a chance to pull out the win," said Fico.

The Saints stranded nine runners in game two leading to the 3-1 defeat. Yakel accounted for the Saints only run with her second homerun of the day with the bases empty in the sixth. The sophomore catcher leads the Saints with eight round trippers on the season.

"We gave them too many extra outs and our pitchers threw timely mistakes early in the game," said Fico.

Garip had three hits on the day for the Saints while Yakel and Watson each had two.

SF (13-15, 1-1 MFC) will travel to Ocala on Tuesday to take on the College of Central Florida for a doubleheader beginning at 2:30 p.m.

For all SF Athletics schedules, stats and more visit santafesaints.com.

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