#TCCBaseball: Sorokowski shines in win over Commodores

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (April 14, 2018) – Justin Sorokowski pitched eight scoreless innings and Tallahassee Community College picked up a crucial 5-1 win over Gulf Coast State College on Saturday afternoon at Eagle Field. 

By the time Tallahassee took the field, it already knew Pensacola State College had dropped a 15-10 decision at Northwest Florida State College. At least momentarily, that outcome pushed the Eagles' lead for second place to 1.5 games over the Pirates. Sorokowski (4-0) gave Tallahassee's postseason hopes an added boost with a clutch performance. 

The sophomore right-hander scattered seven hits over the eight innings and walked only one batter while striking out ten. It was his second quality start of the week after pitching six scoreless innings at Chipola College on Monday. Sorokowski actually allowed all seven hits through the first five innings, and the Commodores repeatedly threatened to get on the board but were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position during that span. 

By the sixth inning, Tallahassee had given Sorokowski a 4-0 lead and he retired the final ten batters he faced before giving way to Jake Kinney in the ninth. 

Gulf Coast State broke up the shutout bid with three hits off Kinney, the last an RBI-single by Jacquez Koonce. 

When the teams met on March 17, Commodore lefty Alec Aleywine took a no-hitter into the sixth. Today, the Eagles got to him in their first at-bat. 

Tanner Thomas singled with one out and scored on Cole Vann's double to deep left-center. A two-out error scored Vann and gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead. 

Vann was in the middle of Tallahassee's next score two innings later. He led things off with a single and eventually scored when Trey Polewski singled to right. 

Cameron Wright's RBI-single in the fifth pushed the Eagles' lead to 4-0. 

An eighth-inning double by Vann plated Thomas with an insurance run for Tallahassee. Vann finished 4-for-5 on the day to key the Eagles' 13-hit attack. 

Mason Miller was 3-for-5. Alex Mills and Polewski had two hits each. 

Tallahassee (33-16, 11-9 PC) is two games up on Pensacola State (9-11) with four games remaining and returns to action next Friday when it hosts the Pirates for a 5 p.m. first pitch. Prior to that, however, Pensacola State will play league-leader Chipola on Monday and Wednesday. 

Gulf Coast State could have clinched the head-to-head tie-breaker with Tallahassee and moved within a game of the Eagles by winning on Saturday. Instead, the teams split the six-game season series and the Commodores sit three games back.