#TCCBaseball drops series opener to NWF State

NICEVILLE, Fla. (March 21, 2019) – Northwest Florida State College scored a pair of fifth-inning runs to break a 5-all tie on the way to a 7-5 win over Tallahassee Community College on Thursday evening. 

Tallahassee (19-13) is now 0-5 in Panhandle Conference play while the Raiders, 27-6 overall and winners of 18 of their last 19 games, have won eight in a row since dropping their league opener. 

Northwest Florida State erased a 5-1 deficit on one swing – Will Moriarty's third-inning grand slam off Logan Lacey – then pushed the go-ahead runs across in the fifth when Kyle Fitzgerald's two-out single scored Mike Madej and Moriarty. 

Allen Roulette (2-1) was charged with the loss for Tallahassee. 

The game couldn't have started any better for the Eagles. A two-out error in the top of the first allowed the first run to score and when Tyler Lala was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, Taylor Lomack scored for a 2-0 lead. 

After Northwest Florida State got one of the runs back in its first at-bat, Tallahassee went to work again. Lomack singled home Lacey and Alex Ray's two-run double put the Eagles in front 5-1 and knocked out Northwest Florida State starter Matt Boswell. 

Relievers Jacob Kush and Jackson Boyd held the Eagles scoreless over the final 7.1 innings and didn't allow a hit until Ray bunted his way on with two outs in the ninth. 

Ray and Trent Jeffcoat had two hits apiece for Tallahassee. 

The series continues on Saturday with a doubleheader at Eagle Field. Game one begins at 1 p.m.