Altamonte Springs, FL--The Scorpions defeated the Sanford River Rats 1-0 on June 26th at 7 pm.

The Scorpions were ready to play ball in the first.

The Scorpions played aggressive defense with a 1-2-3 inning.

Jared Cenal (St. Petersburg) executed pitches, striking out two Sanford players, Rodney Tennis (Georgia Gwinnett) and Omar Villaman (Florida Southern) for the first and third out. Ray Alejo (UCF) caught Zach Diewert’s (Missouri) fly ball into left-center field for the second out. 

The Scorpions scored a run after a homer from Garrett Zech (USF) in the third. 

“It was just a good swing on a good pitch. Luckily it got over the fence there. Nothing too special, just put a good swing on it,” remarked Garrett Zech.

The Scorpions maintained their lead by preventing the River Rats from adding runs to the board.

Ray Alejo (UCF) excelled in catching fly balls during the fourth. Both Elih Marrero (St. Thomas) and Omar Villaman (Florida Southern) hit to centerfield, allowing Alejo two flyouts. Jared Cenal closed the inning with a strikeout from John Jones (South Carolina). 

The Scorpions stopped the River Rats from reaching base in the sixth.

Jared Cenal continued executing pitches, striking out Dathan Prewett (Undecided) and Parker Quinn (Hofstra). The Scorpions closed the inning when Rodney Tennis (Georgia Gwinnett) hit a grounder to third. Trace Thornal (Southeastern) fired the ball to Paxton Rigby (Georgia Tech) to end the inning. 

The Scorpions continued to maintain the lead throughout the game.

The Scorpions had another 1-2-3 inning in the ninth. 

Logan Lyle (State College of FL) hit a grounder to first, allowing Rigby to simply pick up the ball and place his foot on first for out number one. Following Lyle, Rodney Tennie hit towards David Litchfield (St. Johns River), the closing pitcher, who tossed to Rigby for the second out. David Litchfield closed the inning and claimed victory with a strikeout from Zach Diewert (Missouri). 

The Scorpions face the River Rats June 27th for the second game of the series at Sanford Memorial Stadium at 7 pm.

Lana Kaczmarek (Stetson University)