Junior catcher Luis Velandia played the role of late-game hero in game one with a walk-off hit and Florida Memorial University jumped out to an early lead and was able to cruise into a 5-run win in the second game of the day’s doubleheader as the Lions swept visiting Edward Waters University (Fla.) Tuesday at Harry T. Moore Field.
How It Happened – Game One (FMU 5, EWU 4)
- Tied at four heading to the bottom of the seventh, freshman Fernando Vila got on base by drawing a leadoff walk.
- Elijah Baxter knocked Vila over with a bunt.
- Following a Jalen Young flyout, Velandia stepped in and got the barrel of his bat on a hanging pitch – sending it to left field and allowing Vila to race around third into home plate to seal the 5-4 win.
- Florida Memorial took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but Edward Waters responded with a 4-run second inning.
- The Lions plated another single run in the bottom of the second and tied the game at four in the bottom of the third – scoring on a Vila RBI and a passed ball by the EWU pitcher.
How It Happened – Game Two (FMU 14, EWU 9)
- The Lions jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
- Florida Memorial got a run on a passed ball, two runs via bases-loaded walks, and two runs thanks to a Tigers fielding error during the first.
- Yunior Sanchez also knocked in three runs with a bases loaded triple during the big first inning.
- Edward Waters and FMU both plated single runs in the second inning and both scored three runs in the third inning – including a 2-run home run by Nathan Harris – to make it a 14-4 game.
- The Tigers put two on the board in the top of the second and hit a 3-run homer in the top of the sixth to cut FMU’s lead to 14-9 but that would be as close as they would get.
Inside The Box Score – Game One
- Five Florida Memorial betters had 2 hits.
- Velandia went 2-for-3 with his game-winning RBI.
- Axel Gomez and Harris were 2-for-2; Ulises Rodriguez and Rohandry Javier went 2-for-4.
- FMU threw three pitchers – Max Charnin, Isaias Espiritusantos, and Samuel Briceno – and they combined for 11 strikeouts.
- Espiritusantos pitched three shutout innings with 4 strikeouts.
- Javier and Young each had a stolen base while Javier had the game’s lone double.
Inside The Box Score – Game Two
- The Lions totaled 16 hits in game two.
- Young was a perfect 3-for-3 with 3 runs scored and an RBI.
- Yunior Sanchez was 3-for-4 a run scored and 3 RBI.
- Harris’ only hit in game two was his homer, while he also had 2 runs scored.
- Juan Hernandez got the start and the win for FMU, pitching 2.0 innings with a strikeout.
- Edward Waters’ Payton Shubert was 2-for-3, including his home run, with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored.
Analysis & Notes
- Florida Memorial’s current winning streak – seven games – is the longest of the season.
- Harris’ home run was his second of the season, tying him with Vila, Sanchez, and Young for the team lead.
- Rodriguez made multiple impressive defensive plays at third base and accounted for 5 assists.
- Javier extended his team-leading reached-base streak to 30 consecutive games.
- FMU improved to 19-15 overall.
- Edward Waters fell to 15-19 overall.