Mike Ridaught
The top-ranked team in Class 4A has gone down for the second consecutive night, and to the same opponent.
Santa Fe (9-1), which is ranked 5th in the state in Class 4A by MaxPreps, knocked off Class 4A No. 1 Suwannee, 9-2, on Wednesday night in Alachua.
“We were able to put pressure on them early with competitive at bats and great base running,” said Santa Fe coach Travis Yeckring. “We got out to a lead and allowed Ryan Brown to do what he does and that’s pound the strike zone.”
Landon Rogers and Zane Starling each drove in two runs for Santa Fe, while Brown threw six innings and allowed no runs on two hits with only one walk and eight strikeouts.
The Raiders, who had rallied for a 10-7 win in eight innings in Live Oak on Tuesday night, completed the 2-game sweep of the Bulldogs (8-3).
“Good week for the program but it’s a long season,” Yeckring said. “We want to be peaking in May.”
Santa Fe will host Keystone Heights on Monday at 5 p.m., while Suwannee will travel to Leon (Tallahassee) on Friday night at 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Buchholz baseball team earned a split against Columbia (Lake City).
After falling to the Tigers in Lake City, 6-5, on Tuesday night, the Bobcats bounced back with a 4-2 win at home to split the series.
Senior Dario Astudillo hit his second home run in two days for Buchholz, while Jackson Peters threw seven innings and allowed only one earned run with two walks and four strikeouts to improve to 3-0 on the mound.
Buchholz, which improved to 6-3-1, will head to the Panama City Invitational next week. The Bobcats will play four games beginning on Monday night at 6 p.m. against Arnold (Panama City).
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