#TCCBaseball drops third straight

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (February 6, 2017) – NJCAA No. 8/Region 8 No. 2 Santa Fe College handed Tallahassee Community College its third straight loss on Monday, defeating the Eagles, 3-1, at Eagle Field. 

Tallahassee is now 5-3 on the season while Santa Fe improved to 6-3. 

Pitching took center stage on Monday with starters Brooks Buckler (Tallahassee) and Kyle Morton (Santa Fe) locking up in a pitchers' duel. 

Both pitchers carried no-hitters into the fifth when Chris Hawkins broke up Morton's no-no with a two-out single to left, though he was stranded at first to end the inning and keep the game scoreless. 

Buckler actually took his no-hitter into the sixth but a leadoff single from Nick Lentz got the Saints into the hit column. Lentz advanced to second on a sac-bunt and moved to third on a wild pitch. He scored on Dillon Reed's single to left. 

A stolen base and passed ball moved Reed to third, and he scored when Brandon Hernandez laid down a perfect sac-bunt. 

Tallahassee finally broke through against Morton in its half of the sixth. 

After Cole Vann doubled and advanced to third on Josh Nothdorft's single, Tucker Rayburn was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With two outs, Deyvid Silva singled to left scoring Vann, but Nothdorft was thrown out trying to score the tying run to end the threat. 

The Saints took advantage of two errors by Nothdorft in the seventh to get the run back and complete the scoring. 

Tallahassee outhit Santa Fe, 6-3, led by Nothdorft's 2-for-4 outing. 

Buckler (1-1), who allowed two hits and two runs in 5.1 innings, took the loss. 

Tallahassee will return to action on Wednesday when it hosts Florida State College at Jacksonville. First pitch is at 4 p.m.