SARASOTA, Fla. - Mighty Banyans baseball dropped a heart breaker at IMG against Atlantis University. 

The Banyans got off to an early lead in the first inning. Brennan Peterson and Jesus Fortis both reached base via a walk, and set up catcher Matt Merk with an RBI opportunity. Merk delivered, smoking a double to deep right field, bringing home Peterson and Fortis to give New College the lead early. 

The Banyans added on to their lead in the fifth inning. Gabriel Rangel led off the inning reaching first on a hit-by-pitch. Brennan Peterson collected his second walk of the day, advancing Rangel to second. Jesus Fortis advanced the runners again with a single, loading the bases for the heart of the New College lineup. Matt Merk roped another double deep into the outfield, scoring two more Banyan runs to extend the lead to 5. 

The Atlantis offense came alive in the seventh inning. After scoring 2 runs through the first six frames, the Atlantean's exploded for 4 runs in the seventh. With the score now tied at 6, both teams were forced to execute in the final frames to come away with the victory. 

The Banyans took the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Chris Bradburn scored a huge run in a pinch-run appearance, capitalizing on a Atlantean error to take the lead. 

After a scoreless eighth inning, Atlantis scored two runs to take the lead going into the bottom of the ninth. 

The Banyans were unable to capitalize, falling 8-7 in a highly competitive match-up. 

Matthew Merk had another impressive day at the plate, recording 3 hits in 4 at-bats and driving in 5 RBI. 

Avery Bishop notched two hits on the day, driving in one RBI.

Jesus Fortis, John McIntosh, Chris Bradburn, and Gabriel Rangel all scored crucial runs in big moments for NCF. 

The Banyans are back in action on Tues, April 9 at Ave Maria University.