(Box Score) (Box Score 2)
NORTH MIAMI, Fla. (March 13, 2024) – Florida National University’s baseball team (11-14) posted 26 hits on a doubleheader sweep of the Bryant & Stratton College Albany Bobcats (5-15-1). FNU collected a 13-9 victory in game one before clinching the series 2-1 in game two by a score of 13-5.
Game one saw FNU take a 6-0 lead through two innings thanks in part to an impressive four-run, five-hit inning in the second. FNU’s Jordan Lewis posted two doubles and an RBI to start the game, while Jason Altuve had an RBI single in the first and an RBI double in the following frame. BSC got on the board in the third after Johan Sandoval scored two runs on a single to left.
After being held scoreless in the bottom of the third, FNU’s lead was threatened by a four-score inning from the Bobcats. Errors from FNU’s pitcher Jayce Kirkham and a passed ball led to two unearned runs in the frame, but FNU was able to post a couple of scores on its next visit to the plate, after a two-RBI base hit from its big-time shortstop, Altuve.
Lewis scored FNU’s next run after Erick Rodriguez got himself on board with a striking hit to the middle of the field. FNU used what seemed to be a comedy of errors from the Bobcats’ fielders to post four runs on the sixth to secure its win. Altuve scored on an error from the BSC pitcher and scored on a passed ball. A Gino Bellantoni sacrifice fly ran in Jose Medina and Lewis made it home on an error from the third baseman.
BSC was held to just one more score before FNU ended the game on a caught foul ball from first baseman Yordangel Gonzalez.
The Bobcats faced a tough deficit in the first inning of game two, thanks to two home run bombs from Matthew Gonzalez and Yordangel Gonzalez. FNU went up 5-0 in the frame and never looked back, posting four more scores in the third. Alex Lopez recorded an RBI single in the inning and Lewis continued to pick his spots with an RBI base hit that scored Daniel Reyes. BSC struggled to keep the ball in front, scoring Lopez on a passed ball before getting out of the jam.
BSC went on to consistently post a score through the next four frames but an explosive four-run fifth inning closed the door on any kind of Bobcat comeback. Mario Benjamin was calm and collected on the mound, allowing just four runs and collecting four strikeouts. Angel Torres closed out the game with seven strikeouts, earning the save in the victory.
Up Next: Conquistador baseball heads to St. Thomas University for a 6 p.m. contest on March 20.
