Santa Fe Saints Softball Season Starts Off With a Bang

The FCSAA No. 9 Santa Fe Saints left the weekend feeling pretty good about themselves. They are 5-0 right now, all 5 wins coming from games this weekend. The women not only came out on top of the Leadoff Classic series in Clearwater on Saturday, but swept the University of Puerto Rico in two games for their home opener on Sunday.

Head Coach Chris Ahern said last week that the team had a good mix of returning and new players to give the team a nice balance to it.

Here’s the breakdown of what happened this weekend:

Leadoff Classic Series

On Saturday, the Saints went down to Clearwater to take on a few different teams. The team ended up putting up 21 against all three of them. In the first game against Polk State College, it looked like the team wouldn’t be off to a great start as they were down 2-0, but turned that around with 10 straight runs to take the win in the 5th inning 11-2.

Sophomore Bailee Moll and Italian freshman Guiliana Fiorentini went 2-for-3, and Moll with a double and two RBI.

Sophomore Haissette Escudero showed her strength with three runs, a double and two RBI. Pitcher Kaylan Tucker, who is back for another year, killed it on the mound and gave the Saints what they needed for their first win of the season.

Moving into the second game, things heated up a bit more for the Saints as they took on Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Again, the Saints were down in the beginning of the game as Abraham Baldwin got 3 runs for the early lead. But we’ve heard this story before, as the Saints tied the game up in the seventh inning with a single from outfielder Kaitlyn Bennett. Bases were loaded and another inning began. Adriana Garip was the hero of this game as her hit put two runs on the board for the team and therefore bringing home another win.

The last game of the day against Palm Beach State College gave Coach Ahern another heart-attack as the game went to an extra inning for the 6-5 win. Tucker pitched again for this game, taking a break for the duration of the second game to give newbie Jamie Adams from Belleview High School a turn.

Double Win Against University of Puerto Rico

The Saints went into Sunday with a three-game winning streak and came out with two more to add to it. The Saints ended both games in the fifth inning, crushing Puerto Rico 15-0 and 20-1.

Both Tucker and Adams were in the circle for the first and second games respectively. Tucker grabbed her third win of the season, while Adams nabbed her second.

Haissette Escudero really lead the offense the first game going 3-for-4 with a double and four RBI.

In the second game, it was all over by the second inning when the Saints had a total of 13 runs.

Good start for SF Softball who lead the University of Puerto Rico 6-0 in the second inning of their first game of a double header. Bases still loaded. #SicEmSaints pic.twitter.com/WQDVJayFpa

— Santa Fe Saints (@SF_Athletics) January 28, 2018

Coming Up

The Saints will be back in action at Avon Park on February 3rd to take on South Florida State College in another double header. First pitch will be at 1 P.M.