With wind whipping and fans cheering, Santa Fe College (19-15, 8-4 Mid-Florida Conference) was unable to walk away with a victory Saturday against Lake Sumter Community College, falling to the Lakers 13-10.
SFC, which was on a nine-game winning streak, now finds itself looking down the path of a multiple-game losing streak. The Saints lost the first game of the two-day series with the Lakers in Leesburg on Friday 8-0, snapping their winning streak.
"When you drop two games in a row after winning nine straight, of course it's very frustrating," Saints coach Johnny Wiggs said. "I thought we had the chance to take the lead a couple of times, but we made too many mistakes."
Mother Nature caused difficulty for both SFC and LSCC on Saturday. While the exact speed of the wind was unknown, everyone took note of the importance it played on both sides. Four home runs were scored between the two teams.
SFC starting pitcher Gary Merians gave up 6 runs in the second inning. Merians would give up seven hits and 7 runs during his 6 2/3 innings.
"Very rarely does a college pitcher recover from a real big inning. Generally it lingers and carries over into other innings," Wiggs said. "I give Gary a lot of credit for keeping his head in the game."
SFC freshman Keon Broxton, who saw his first at-bat during the eighth inning, hit the Saints' second home run of the day. Broxton's at-bat set up closer Andy Mee's 2-run homer that tied the game at 10.
After giving up 4 runs during his two innings pitched, Mee took the loss for the Saints.
