Florida State College at Jacksonville (1-4) welcomed Hillsborough Community College (HCC) this weekend for the first home games of the 2024 season. HCC took both games of the Friday doubleheader before FSCJ won game three on Saturday.

Hillsborough 9, FSCJ 1

Game 1 was the first of two seven-inning games on Friday afternoon, as the visitors from Tampa made their way to Jacksonville for the first time in at least a decade. Scoreless through three innings, the Hawks broke the 0-0 tie with a 4-run 4^th inning, tallying all four runs with two outs. HCC added one in the 5^th and four more in the 6^th to bring their total to 9 runs. Walks and errors plagued the Wave once more, walking four and making four errors. The lone run for the home team was scored in the 7^th as Carson Womer singled home Brooks Hicken. 8 of 9 FSCJ hitters had a hit, with Aidan Hampton contributing a triple. Brady Ellison (0-2) took the loss on the mound, allowing four runs on two hits and 3 walks in 3.2 innings pitched.

Hillsborough 8, FSCJ 7

Game 2 needed every pitch to decide a winner, as Isaac Newman's would-be walk off homer fell just short in the bottom of the 7^th inning. Hillsborough took an early 4-0 lead after two innings on two BlueWave errors. FSCJ roared back to take a 5-4 lead after a run in the 3^rd (Aidan Hampton RBI single) and four runs in the 5^th (Hampton RBI single, Carson Womer RBI single, Sean Esquinaldo 2-RBI double). HCC responded with 4 of their own in the 6^th before FSCJ added single runs in the 6^th (Ashton Nugent RBI sacrifice fly) and the 7^th (Brooks Hicken RBI single), ultimately falling short 8-7. Cayden Robinson was lights out in his first career college start, going 5 innings pitched, allowing 0 earned runs, striking out 3 and walking 1 with 4 hits. Ethan Wilford (0-1) took the loss, allowing 4 runs. Connor Nelson pitched a scoreless inning in relief. Aidan Hampton and Carson Womer had multi-hit games.

FSCJ 4, Hillsborough 2

Saturday brought better fortune to the home team in Blue, as FSCJ reigned victorious in the lone 9-inning affair of the weekend. Hillsborough bookended single runs in the 1^st and 9^th innings. FSCJ scored three in the 3^rd (Matt Retamoza RBI single, Ashton Nugent RBI single, and Aidan Hampton RBI single), and 1 in the 5^th (Ashton Nugent RBI double). Jaden Paradoa (1-0) had the best game on the mound in his collegiate career, going 7 innings and allowing 0 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 strikeouts. Connor Nelson threw his second scoreless inning of the weekend. Joshua Rouw (1) recorded his first career save, allowing one run in the 9^th but preserving the win. Alex Monile made a game-changing diving catch in the outfield in the 9^th inning to maintain the lead. Retamoza and Nugent had multi-hit games.

What's Next?

FSCJ will play host to Edward Waters University JV on Wednesday, February 7^th, at 2:00 PM. The BlueWave will then have another weekend split-series with Daytona State College, with Game 1 being at 1:00 PM on Friday (2/9) in Daytona Beach, and Game 2 being at 12:00 on Saturday (2/10) in Jacksonville.