(Box Score) (Box Score 2)
DENMARK, SC. (March 29, 2024) – Florida National University’s baseball team (15-15) posted a productive Good Friday performance versus Continental Athletic Conference (CAC) foe, the Voorhees University Tigers (9-19). FNU got off to a solid start with a 9-6 win in game one of the noon doubleheader in Denmark, South Carolina, before claiming a 9-2 victory to improve to 4-2 in CAC play this season.
The Conquistadors’ lead-off hitter Jordan Lewis was able to triple before scoring on a wild pitch to give FNU a slim 1-0 lead in the first inning of game one. The Tigers jumped to a two-score lead in the bottom of the frame thanks to an RBI single from Jathan Smith and a triple from Darius Keyton that ran in Jordyn Hill. Roberto Fernandez and Gino Bellantoni recorded a single in the next two innings, but both teams remained scoreless until the fourth.
FNU exploded for a four-run, three-hit inning that included RBI singles from Daniel Silgado and Matthew Gonzalez. The Tigers responded with just one run from a Shay Barbosa base hit. The Conquistadors left Erick Rodriguez stranded at first in the fifth and allowed two runs on an error from Gonzalez to fall behind 6-5.
Despite trailing late, FNU posted four unanswered scores through the final two frames to claim a 9-6 victory. Errors from the Tigers’ third baseman and center fielder bought just enough time for FNU to take over the game down the stretch. The Tigers recorded eight hits in the loss while FNU connected on seven.
In game two, FNU took the lead with a three-run inning in the third. The Tigers committed two errors in the frame as Jason Altuve and Jeremy De La Cruz made their way safely home, capitalizing on some serious blunders from the Tigers.
Voorhees stormed back with what would be its only scores of the contest at the bottom of the frame. Isaiah Palmer got it started for the Tigers with an RBI triple before scoring a run of his own on a double from Hill. FNU put some serious separation in the next two innings, earning a 5-2 lead in the fourth thanks to an RBI base hit and a run from Altuve.
FNU continued to make great contact off the bat in the fifth, as Yordangel Gonzalez posted an RBI single and second baseman Daniel Silgado earned an RBI on a costly walk. FNU’s ninth run of the game came thanks to a single from Gonzalez that scored Bellantoni in the sixth.
The Conquistadors exited the field with eight hits to the Tigers’ six. Voorhees posted four errors in the loss and FNU recorded one.
Up Next: The Conquistadors look to keep it rolling with a doubleheader versus Paine College on March 30.
