#TCCBaseball: Eagles hand Santa Fe first loss

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (February 5, 2018) – Tallahassee Community College handed Santa Fe College its first loss of the 2018 season on Monday, defeating the Saints, 5-2, at Eagle Field. 

Tallahassee (4-3) moved a game above .500 with the win while dropping Santa Fe to 8-1 and gaining a small measure of payback against the Saints. Santa Fe rallied from a 7-1 deficit to defeat Tallahassee, 8-7, six days ago in Gainesville. 

Runs were much harder to come by on Monday for both sides, even with the teams combining for 16 hits. Tallahassee and Santa Fe each turned four double plays to minimize the scoring threats throughout the game. 

Tallahassee broke through in the bottom of the third with a pair of runs against Saints starter Tyler Jones and did so without a ball leaving the infield. 

Tucker Rayburn drew a leadoff walk and moved into scoring position when Jones fielded Rawlins Cleveland's bunt but wasn't in time on the attempted force out at second. After Cory Labsan bunted his way on to load the bases, Jones uncorked a wild pitch to score Rayburn. 

Following a strikeout, Cleveland was picked off third for the second out of the inning but Trey Polewski beat out an infield single and Tanner Thomas walked to re-load the bases. Jones hit Cole Vann to plate Labsan with the second run. 

In the fourth, Rayburn singled and stole second then scored on a two-out error, one of four committed by Santa Fe, to extend the Eagles' lead to 3-0. 

Santa Fe cut into the lead with two runs in the fifth against starter and winning pitcher Brandon Reitz (1-0), but Tallahassee got the runs right back in the bottom half when Logan Lacey smacked a two-run homer to left, his first of the season. 

Lacey also pitched the final two innings for his first save and combined with relievers Tyler Lehrmann and Alex Stobert to limit the Saints to just four hits and one walk over the final four innings. 

Reitz scattered five hits over five innings before turning things over to the bullpen. 

Tallahassee's seven hits came from seven different players. Rayburn scored twice and Lacey drove in a pair with the home run. 

Tallahassee will host Andrew (Ga.) College at 4 p.m. Tuesday – the game was pushed up a day to avoid a potential rainout on Wednesday.