Eagles pull away late for 7-1 win over Pensacola State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 25, 2013) - FCSAA No. 1 Tallahassee Community College found a new way to win on Monday. 

One day after a ninth-inning rally gave Tallahassee an 8-5 win in the series opener against Pensacola State College, the Eagles managed only three hits but it was enough in a 7-1 win over the Pirates in game two of the series. 

Clinging to a 2-1 lead, Tallahassee put the game away with five runs in the bottom of the eighth, although it did so with the benefit of only one hit. 

A two-out single by Cody Borup - the Eagles' first hit since the third inning - plated James Abbatinozzi and Tyler York with the final two runs of the inning and gave Tallahassee a 7-1 cushion. 

The Eagles' eighth-inning rally also included three hit batsmen, three passed balls and an error by Pensacola State third baseman Ryan Herzon that resulted in two runs. Tallahassee scored its first run of the inning when Abbatinozzi was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. 

Tallahassee starter and winning pitcher Jared Stanley (4-1) carried a 2-0 lead into the eighth and retired the first two batters but was pulled after a first-pitch ball to the Pirates' leadoff hitter Toby Thomas, who eventually singled off Eagle reliever Victor Cole. 

A wild pitch moved Thomas into scoring position, and he scored on Brett Casteel's two-out double to cut Tallahassee's lead in half. Cole walked Taylor Eads to put the go-ahead run on base, but got cleanup hitter Roy Moulder to ground out to second to end the threat. 

Cole recorded the final four outs to notch his third save of the season. 

Anthony Torres had Tallahassee's first two hits of the day and finished 2-for-5. 

Tallahassee got on the board in the second. With runners on the corners, Tyler York executed the delayed steal to perfection, swiping second and allowing John Price, Jr., to race home from third. 

Price, Jr., had three stolen bases on Monday and Tallahassee stole six as a team. 

An inning later, Torres led of the inning with a single, advanced to third on a wild pitch and came home on a passed ball to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead. 

The win clinched another series victory for Tallahassee (33-5), who has won seven of its first eight Panhandle Conference games. 

The Eagles will go for the sweep when the teams return to Pensacola State for the series finale on Wednesday at 6 p.m. eastern.