St. Johns River State halts Eagles’ winning streak

PALATKA, Fla. (March 7) – FCSAA No. 3 Tallahassee Community College saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday, falling to St. Johns River State College, 11-2, in NJCAA baseball action. 

Tallahassee's last loss came February 15, a 6-5 defeat at State College of Florida. The Eagles' 12 consecutive wins included a 5-0 triumph over St. Johns River State (18-10) on February 28. 

On Thursday, however, the Vikings roughed up Tallahassee's pitching staff. Starter and losing pitcher Patrick Riley (2-1) was charged with five earned runs in 4.1 innings. Jared Stanley didn't fare much better, allowing six earned runs in only 2.2 innings. 

St. Johns River State's Matt Pennington (3-3) exacted some revenge on the Eagles, after suffering the loss in the teams' first meeting. He scattered eight hits over 6.2 innings but allowed only two runs and struck out eight to notch the victory. 

Anthony Torres had two hits for Tallahassee. Trent Higginbothem and Matt Bahnick each had a double. 

Tallahassee will carry a 22-4 record into a four-game homestand that will wrap up the non-conference portion of its schedule. 

The Eagles will host Marion Military (Ala.) Institute for games on Friday (4 p.m.) and Saturday (2 p.m.) before the Thomas University JV comes to town for a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Sunday.