Eagles roll past SCF to sweep series

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (February 20, 2016) – NJCAA Region 8 No. 1 Tallahassee Community College banged out 16 hits en route to a 14-7 win over No. 4 State College on Florida on Saturday afternoon to sweep the two-game series from the Manatees. 

Tallahassee improved its record to 14-3. State College of Florida has dropped three in a row and is now 10-5. 

After managing just five hits in a 3-1 loss to Florida State College at Jacksonville on Wednesday, the Eagles' bats woke up in a big way. Tallahassee totaled 25 runs and 26 hits in the two games against the Manatees. 

Like Friday, Tallahassee again spotted the visitors an early lead. 

Aided by a throwing error from Tallahassee pitcher Skylar Arias, State College of Florida pushed a pair of runs across in the third, but that turned out to be the Manatees' only lead of the game. 

The Eagles scored eight unanswered runs, beginning with two in their half of the third, courtesy of Josh Nothdorft's two-run single, to tie the game. 

Tallahassee put together a four-run rally in the fourth to seize control. 

With the bases loaded and nobody out, Mac Wilson doubled down the right field line to score Kyle Cavanaugh and Deyvid Silva and knock out Manatees starter Hunter McGarry after three-plus innings. 

Ethan Crout's RBI-sac-fly scored Tyler Maley, and Zach Featherstone plated Wilson with a two-out single to push the Eagles to a 6-2 lead. 

The runs kept coming in the fifth. Two more to be exact and again it was off the bat of Wilson, who doubled home Kyle Taddeo and Maley to make it an 8-2 ball game. 

Arias gave up four straight singles to start the sixth. The last, by Jared Pruett, scored Tyler Romanik and Reilly Johnson to cut the Eagles' lead to 8-4 and end Arias' afternoon. 

The Manatees added one more run in the sixth, which was also charged to Arias (1-0), who scattered nine hits and two walks over his five-plus innings of work. 

Tallahassee got one of the runs back in the sixth then put an exclamation point on the win in the eighth. 

Featherstone hit a solo homer and Silva added a two-run shot, his second home run in as many days, to give the Eagles a 14-5 lead. 

Romanik's two-run homer in the ninth off Rion Murrah capped the scoring, but Murrah still picked up his second save with four innings of work in relief of Arias. 

Arias and Murrah struck out six batters each. 

Wilson had the biggest day at the plate for the Eagles, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and five RBIs. 

Nothdorft was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs. 

Featherstone, Taddeo and Cavanaugh had two hits each. 

Tallahassee will return to the field on Monday when it hosts Thomas University's JV squad for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. Both games can be seen live on TCCeagles.com.