LEESBURG, Fla. (Baseball) – Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) baseball opened Sun-Lakes Conference play over the weekend with a three-game series against Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ).

Day one of the three-game series took place at The Hawks Nest with a double header on Saturday afternoon. Game three was played at FSCJ on Sunday.  

The Lakehawks took the series over the Blue Wave with two out of three wins.

Game One – Lake-Sumter 3, FSCJ 2 (10 innings)

FSCJ took a 1-0 lead right away in the top of the first inning.

Lake-Sumter remained scoreless until the sixth when Tad Brooks led off the inning with a walk.

Brooks advanced to third on an overthrow pickoff attempt from the Blue Wave pitcher. With Brooks on third base, Eli Thurmond hit a ground ball to second scoring their first run.

The Lakehawks tied the score at 2-2 with back-to-back doubles from Ryan Jenkins and Jacob Delano.

The score remained tied at 2-2, forcing the game into extra innings.

Ean Gimson reached on an infield error from the Blue Wave. He stole second and advanced to third on a ground ball from Thurmond.

Gimson now on third, managed to score the winning run on a drop-third strike and an overthrow from the catcher on the attempt to make the out at first base.

In a nontraditional way to walk off a game, the Lakehawks took game one over FSCJ 3-2 in 10 innings.

Tyler Toro and Robert Tracy teamed up on the mound against the Blue Wave for the game one win. Toro pitched 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on four hits with six strikeouts.

Tracy, who battled into extra innings, also tossed five complete, scoreless innings. He allowed just four hits and one walk with five strikeouts.

With the win, Tracy improved to 2-0 on the mound for the season.  

Game Two – Lake-Sumter 3, FSCJ 2

Lake-Sumter took a 1-0 lead in game two in the bottom of the first.

With Jenkins on base after drawing a hit-by-pitch, Delano advanced him to third with a single to left field. A wild pitch then allowed Jenkins to score and the Lakehawks to take the lead.

The Blue Wave put two runs on the board in the top of the third before the Lakehawks found a way to come back in the bottom of the fifth.

With Tanner Reid on second base, Brooks stepped up with a double to score Reid and tie up the score.

Edwin Melendez came up next, with a shallow pop fly to right field. The FSCJ right fielder, battling the sun and the wind, could not make the catch, allowing Brooks to score from second.

The Lakehawks clinched the series with the game two win, 3-2.

Starting pitcher Jackson Raper recorded his second win of the season for game two. With 5.0 innings pitched, he allowed just two runs on eight hits with four strikeouts.

Larson McMaster entered the game in the sixth to recorded his first save of the season. McMaster tossed two perfect innings with three strikeouts.

Game Three – Lake-Sumter 8, FSCJ 9

The Blue Wave sought revenge on the Lakehawks in game three after taking an early five-run lead in the second inning.

The Lakehawks chipped away, scoring one in the top of the third and one in the top of the fifth before a big five-run inning in the sixth inning to take the lead back 7-5.

FSCJ answered back once again with a big sixth inning, scoring four runs on four hits.

Lake-Sumter tried to come back in their final at bats, but could only manufacture one run in the top of the eighth falling to FSCJ 8-9.

Jenkins went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and one run scored. Delano and Thurmond had two hits each.

Nathan Quinn, Preston James, and Gregory Bori all saw time on the mound in game three. 

Quinn starting, throwing 4.0 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits with two strikeouts.

James recorded the loss with 1.2 innings pitched. He allowed four runs on five hits with two strikeouts.

Bori closed out the final 2.1 innings, holding the Blue Wave to no runs on one hit with one strikeout.

With two wins, the Lakehawks improved to 8-10-1 overall, 2-1 in conference. Three games into Sun-Lakes Conference play, Lake-Sumter ranks tied for second in standings.

In the regular season, the Lakehawks will play each Sun-Lakes Conference opponent for two three-game series for a total of six games for post-season consideration. Lake-Sumter and FSCJ will meet again on Friday, Mar. 29 and Saturday, Mar. 30 for their second three game series.

Up next for the Lakehawks

Lakehawk Baseball will host non-conference opponent A3 Academy Trojans on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 2:00 p.m. Livestream video and statistics will be available to those who cannot attend.

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