Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) baseball played St. Johns River State College (SJR) in a split-site three game series this weekend. St Johns River won game 1 in Jacksonville on Thursday (2/29) and game 2 in Palatka on Friday (3/1). FSCJ won game 3 in Palatka on Friday (3/1). 

St Johns River 10, FSCJ 1 (8 innings)

A 0-0 game through the first 4 innings got away from the BlueWave late in game one of the Sun-Lakes Conference series. SJR was able to plate two runs in the 5th, all with two outs, on two singles and two hit-by-pitches to take a 2-0 lead. That expanded to 4-0 in the 7th when a single and a passed ball scored two more Vikings. A run for FSCJ in the home 7th on an RBI single by Matt Retamoza made it 4-1, but St Johns scored 6 in the top of the 8th to make it 10-1 and take the victory via run-rule. Retamoza had a multi-hit game for the Wave. Cayden Robinson (1-1) took the loss for FSCJ on the mound, allowing two runs on four hits in 4.2 innings pitched. 

St Johns River 10, FSCJ 0 (6 innings)

SJR was able to take game two of the series late in the game again. Scoreless through three innings, the Vikings struck first scoring four in the bottom of the 4th on four hits and a hit batter. A single run in the 5th and five more in the 6th on two home runs ended the game in favor of the home team. Brady Ellison (1-3) was the pitcher of record for FSCJ, allowing four runs on four hits, all in the fourth, striking out six Viking hitters on the day. Ethan Wilford provided a scoreless inning of relief. 

FSCJ 12, St Johns River 5 

FSCJ answered the bell in game three in a big way, scoring early and often to earn the victory. A single run in the first for St Johns River would be the only lead they would have of game three, as FSCJ scored four in the top of the 2nd and never looked back. Clutch two-out hits from Alex Monile and Ashton Nugent got the scoring started. Mac Wilkins contributed an RBI groundout in the 3rd to make it 5-1, before SJR answered back in the bottom half to make it 5-3. A Matt Retamoza fielders choice and a Viking error scored two more in the 5th. Two wild pitches scored batters and another Monile hit scored one to bring the lead to 10-3 in the 6th. The Vikings mustered up two more runs in the bottom of the 6th to make it 10-5. An error and a passed ball plated two more BlueWave baserunners in the 9th to bring the game to its 12-5 final score. Alex Monile went 4 for 4 on the day, followed closely by a 3-hit game by Billy Girgis. Braden Kessel also had a multi-hit affair. Jaden Paradoa was the starting pitcher for FSCJ, throwing 3 innings, allowing 3 runs. Gant Geiger (3-1) earned the win in relief, throwing 3 innings, allowing 2 runs. Jayden Long (2 IP, 0 R, 2 K) and Joshua Rouw (IP, 0 R, 2 K) pitched the scoreless final three innings. 

What's next?

FSCJ will host Pasco-Hernando State College for another Sun-Lakes Conference three-game series next Friday (3/9) and Saturday (3/10) at Howard Roey Field on the FSCJ North Campus.