NCF Baseball (17-16, 3-9) will face a ranked foe for a second straight weekend as the Mighty Banyans will visit No. 13 St. Thomas for a four-game weekend series starting Thursday in Miami Gardens.
The Mighty Banyans and Bobcats will play Game 1 of the four-game set Thursday at 6 p.m. EST, play Games 2 and 3 at 3 and 6 p.m. Friday and wrap up the series Saturday with a 1 p.m. matchup.
IMPORTANT LINKS
LIVESTREAM
LIVE STATS
INSIDE THE SERIES (NCF vs. St. Thomas)
Overall Record: (1-3)
At Home: (1-3)
On The Road: (0-0)
OF NOTE
- NCF split a four-game series with then-ranked No. 22 Keiser last weekend in a home series at North Port's Cool Today Park. The Mighty Banyans dropped Game 1 9-2, won Game 2 4-3, lost Game 3 7-2 and won the finale 15-5. It held the lead at one point in each game of the series.
- The Mighty Banyans 4-3 win in Game 2 saw Keiser jump 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.
- In the series finale, 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 Patrick Fink doubled in two runs, and Fernando 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, Rylan 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.
- Gilmore was named the Sun Conference Pitcher of The Week Monday after not allowing an earned run in the series split with the Seahawks.
Up Next:Â March 10-11 vs. Florida Memorial - IMG Academy
