Small Ball leads to Big Win: Eagles offense remains red-hot, leads to second consecutive win

By Brenden Martin
TCC Sports Information
@brendenmartin28

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (February 25, 2014) -The Tallahassee Community College Eagles won their second consecutive game on Tuesday, defeating Florida State College at Jacksonville 9-3 behind a strong outing from pitchers Micah Dunn and Connor O'Brien. 

Tallahassee (14-5) came into Tuesday's game against FSCJ as the No. 4 team in the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) Men's Baseball Coaches' Poll. 

The Eagles were coming off Monday's game against Abraham Baldwin (Ga.) Agricultural College in which they rallied from a 4-0 deficit to score eight unanswered runs and shut out the Stallions the rest of the way. They were hoping that the offensive firepower would carry over into this one, and the bats would stay hot. 

It did not take Tallahassee long to get started in this one, putting one up in the runs column in the bottom of the second. After Quincy Nieporte singled to right to lead off the inning, Matt Olive slapped an 0-1 pitch down the right field line, scoring Nieporte for an RBI double. 

The Eagles were not done. Two more runners crossed home plate in the next inning due to a wild pitch which allowed Ryne Willard to come home and advanced Bobby Rice to third. D.J. McKnight was able to drive in Rice for the RBI in the ensuing at-bat. Tallahassee put up some more crooked numbers on the scoreboard and led FSCJ 3-0 at the end of the third. 

The small-ball strategy continued to work for the Eagles throughout the entire game. They were able to string hits together during key moments and just watched the runs add up on the scoreboard. Tallahassee scored at least one run in six out of the nine innings. 

The largest run total in one inning for Tallahassee came in the bottom of the seventh. Florida State College at Jacksonville sent pitcher Aaron Kincaid on in relief and it appeared as though he had a tough time settling in. 

Nieporte doubled to deep right-center, scoring McKnight from second. This was followed by a triple from Christian Dicks, which scored Nieporte. This is the second consecutive game with an RBI triple for Dicks. Dicks would score later in the inning on a defense's indifference. 

The Eagles put up three in the seventh inning and added another in the eighth to cruise to victory. FSCJ managed to put three runs across in the sixth inning, but it was not enough as the Eagles took this one 9-3. 

Tallahassee starting lefty Micah Dunn did an excellent job of keeping FSCJ off the scoreboard through five innings as he earned the win. He eventually ran out of gas in the top of the sixth and was relieved by Connor O'Brien. 

Dunn gave up five hits, two earned runs, and walked just two in five innings, but did manage to fan four batters. O'Brien also struck out four, he gave up just two hits in four innings of work to earn the save. 

Tallahassee's offensive production came from multiple players throughout the lineup. Six different Eagles recorded an RBI in Tuesday's game. Nieporte went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, scoring twice. Dicks' only hit in the game was the RBI-triple in the seventh to deep-right center field. He also scored twice. 

The bats have come alive for the Eagles of late and they can only hope that the hot streak continues on Wednesday as they take on Santa Fe College at Eagle Field. That will be game six of Tallahassee's current 16-game homestand. First pitch is at 4 p.m. eastern.