NORTH PORT, Fla. - NCF Baseball earned a series split with No. 22 Keiser over the weekend as it split a pair of doubleheaders Friday and Saturday at Cool Today Park's Field 7, the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves in North Port, Florida.
With the 2-2 weekend, NCF is now 17-16 overall and 3-9 in Sun Conference play.
Game 1
New College of Florida dropped the series opener to Keiser, 9-2, on Friday afternoon.
NCF struck first as in the bottom of the first,
Patrick Fink doubled to center field to bring home a run and
Rylan Jomisko followed with an RBI single to right, scoring Fink to give the Banyans a 2-0 lead.
Keiser responded in the third inning, taking the lead with a three-run frame and adding on in the fourth and fifth innings to extend the advantage. Keiser continued to build separation late, scoring in the seventh and adding two more runs in the ninth.
Fink led New College with two hits and an RBI, while Jomisko added two hits and an RBI.
Andrew Merchant also recorded a hit in the loss.
Game 2
New College of Florida responded in Game 2 Friday with a 4-3 win over the No. 22 ranked Seahawks.
Keiser jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind a solo home run from Jeremy Garcia in the opening frame and runs in the top of the second and top of the fifth.
New College broke through in the fifth inning, scoring twice to cut the deficit to one. An error allowed Merchant to score and
Domenic Fernandez ripped an RBI single to score
Robert Hoffman later in the frame to cut the Seahawk lead to 3-2.
The Banyans took the lead in the sixth as
Wil Gregory delivered a two-run single to right, scoring Merchant and pinch-runner
Luka Dodig to make it 4-3.
Brecken Fair led the offense with two hits, while Fernandez added two hits and an RBI. Gregory drove in two runs, and Merchant scored twice in the win.
Mikey Olivia earned the win in relief, tossing a scoreless bottom of the sixth, while
Corbin Gilmore closed the seven-inning game to secure the save.
Game 3
New College of Florida fell to Keiser, 7-2, in Game 3 on Saturday.
The Banyans struck first in the second inning when  Merchant lifted a sacrifice fly to center, allowing
Fernando Espinal to score and give New College a 1-0 lead.
Keiser answered in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Jaden Ross, then moved in front in the fifth on a two-run home run by Tad Brooks to take a 3-1 lead.
New College cut into the deficit in the sixth when
Brecken Fair came around to score on a ground out by
Matthew Merk, trimming the score to 3-2.
Keiser added an insurance run in the seventh and another in the eighth before scoring twice in the ninth to put the game away.
Fair led the Banyans with two hits and a run scored, while Espinal and Jomisko each added a hit.
Game 4
New College of Florida closed out the series with a dominant 15-5 run-rule shortened win.
NCF jumped out early in the first inning as Merchant delivered a two-run single.
The Mighty Banyans added to the lead in the second when Fink doubled in two runs, and Espinal followed with an RBI single to make it 5-0.
The offense continued to roll in the third inning. After one run came home to score on a wild pitch, Jomisko added a two-run single, and Fink brought in another with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 9-0.
New College pushed the advantage to double digits in the fourth on an RBI walk by
Ryan Burgoon. Keiser got on the board in the fifth, but Espinal answered with a two-run home run to keep control at 12-2.
The Banyans continued to add on in the sixth with a pair of sacrifice flies from Jomisko and Fink, and Jomisko drove in another run with a double in the eighth, which allowed the run-rule to take effect.
Jomisko led the offense with three hits and four RBIs, while Fink drove in four runs. Espinal added three RBIs, and Merchant finished with two RBIs.
Gilmore earned the win on the mound, allowing two runs over 4.2 innings.
Up Next: The Mighty Banyans will head to Miami Gardens to begin a four-game weekend series with No. 11 St. Thomas starting Thursday.
