Baseball / Seven-Run Fourth Lifts Scorps Past Rats

Seven-Run Fourth Lifts Scorps Past Rats

Date:  Source: Florida Collegiate Summer League

 

Box Score 

SANFORD, Fla-- The Seminole County Scorpions defeated the Sanford River Rats 10-3 Monday night at Sanford Memorial Stadium. A big fourth inning and a dominant pitching performance by Christian Simon (Montevallo) was the difference in this one. 

Simon was nothing short of spectacular on the mound for Seminole County Monday night. He struck out 10 batters, and only allowed one earned run on eight hits through seven innings of work. Simon has been a consistent starter for the Scorpions all summer long, but this outing was without a doubt his best game. 

“Really everything was working out there for me and I felt really good tonight,” said Simon. “Fastball command was really good, my change-up and curveball were on so I couldn’t have asked for a better outing.” 

Sanford struck first in the top of the third inning. Jackson Muldowney (Indian River) led off with a single up the middle. On an attempted pickoff play at first base, Simon overthrew Josh Reynolds (Embry-Riddle) and Muldowney was able to score all the way from first base, which gave the River Rats a 1-0 lead. At the bottom of the inning, Seminole County answered right back with a two-run home run by Riley Wash (Pitt) to take a 2-1 lead. 

 

The River Rats tied the game at 2-2 on a two-out rally in the fourth. Thomas Broyles (Missouri) and Francis Villaman (FIU) hit back-to-back singles, and both moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Then Muldowney hit a ground ball to first base that Reynolds struggled to handle, and Broyles came across home plate to score. 

 

Seminole County broke the game wide open with a huge fourth inning. The Scorpions scored seven runs in the inning, and 12 batters came to the plate. Kyle Richardson (Jacksonville) and Fausto Lopez (Middle Tenn) started the rally with a perfectly executed hit-and-run that put runners on the corners. Jeremy Gunter (Jacksonville) followed with an RBI single to left field, and the Scorpions regained the lead.

 

It was just getting started for Seminole County as two more runs came across on wild pitches to extend the lead at 5-2. The key hit in the inning came with the bases loaded and one out. Reynolds stepped in and came through with a big two-RBI single up the middle which provided the Scorpions to a 7-2 advantage. They added another two runs to make it 9-2 on a throwing error and another wild pitch.

 In the fifth, the Scorpions scored their 10th and final run of the game on a Mike Christopoulos (Valdosta State) RBI single to right field. Sanford scored a run to make it 10-3 in the eighth, but it was too little too late for the River Rats. 

With the win, the Scorpions record moved to 5-19-1 on the season and jumped up to the five seed in the standings past the Winter Garden Squeeze. Tuesday night, 6:30 p.m. at Sanford Memorial Stadium, these two teams will meet again, with Marcus McKoy (St. Thomas) being the expected starter for the Scorpions. 

Matt McClure (Penn State)