It all came down to defense.
Three major errors led to five unearned runs as Santa Fe Community College fell to Seminole Community College 10-5 on Saturday.
The Saints (20-14) scored five runs in the seventh and eighth innings, but the Raiders (25-12) had already put up seven runs before the home team even got on the board.
"They kept fighting late in the game and stayed in the game," SFCC coach Johnny Wiggs said of his players. "They didn't quit, but the horse was out of the barn by then."
Left-hander John Lambert (2-2, 4.34 ERA) started on the mound for the Saints and pitched well until getting into trouble in the seventh inning. After back-to-back hits and a run scored, Bobby Bolling came on in relief. Another run scored on a single to center field, closing the book on Lambert's outing at six-plus innings and five earned runs. An error by third baseman Trace Venegas allowed two more Raiders to cross the plate.
"I thought (Lambert) threw the ball better, and he got deep in the game for us," Wiggs said. "He just made a couple of bad pitches.
"It was frustrating, because I thought we got a good enough start from Lambert to give us a chance to win, but their guy did a great job."
SCC Sophomore right-hander Eric Broberg kept the Saints guessing for most of the day, and it was Venegas who finally broke up the no-hitter with a single in the fifth inning. Venegas also knocked in the first run for SFCC with a seventh-inning single that sent home Andy Mee, who led off the inning with a triple.
Venegas and Mee led the Saints' offense with two hits apiece, and Venegas had two RBIs.
Broberg went 6 1/3 innings for the Raiders and gave up three earned runs with eight strikeouts. Wiggs attributed Broberg's success to his use of the breaking ball and his ability to locate it, while still throwing his fastball enough to "keep (them) honest."
"He threw the breaking ball anytime in the count," Wiggs said. "He threw first-pitch breaking balls, he threw them behind in the count, and he threw them ahead in the count. Anytime you can do that, you're gonna give some people fits."
The main difference in the game was the defense, as the Saints were troubled in the field. A particularly ugly eighth inning saw center fielder Eugene Garnett lose a routine fly ball in the sun, first baseman Will Pichard drop a pop-up and shortstop Tyler Cook flub a routine grounder. Those mistakes led to three runs in the inning, and, coupled with Venegas' error, tallied up to five free runs that were the difference in the game.
"We didn't make a couple of plays," Wiggs said. "We've talked about that. You've got to be able to make a play in a crucial time in the game. The game's 5-5 if you take those plays away."
The loss gave Seminole a two-game lead over SFCC in the Mid-Florida Conference.
The Saints will look to get even with the Raiders on Monday when they travel to Sanford for a 3 p.m. game. Mee (4-2, 3.97) will get the start.
