NWF State picks up 10th conference win

By NWF DAILY NEWS

NICEVILLE — It's safe to say the Northwest Florida State baseball team took its one-run loss to Tallahassee in Game 1 of Saturday's double-header personally.

In the 16 innings since, the Raiders have dropped a whopping 15 runs on the Eagles, including seven in Tuesday's 7-5 victory against Tallahassee at the Raider Baseball Complex in Niceville.

NWF State (29-7 overall, 10-2 Panhandle Conference) wasted little time getting on the board Tuesday, plating three runs each in the bottom of the first and the bottom of the second to take a 6-0 lead that would go unanswered until the fifth inning.

Starter Matt Boswell, who had cruised through four scoreless frames, allowed four Eagles (20-15, 1-7) to come home in the top of the fifth, though he settled down and threw two more scoreless frames before his night was done.

Drawing his seventh start of the year, the sophomore right-hander tossed six strikeouts in seven innings, working around nine hits — one a three-run home run — to pick up his fifth win of the year. The mark ties him with freshman Jacob Kush for second most on the team.

Freshman Jackson Boyd pitched the final 1 2/3 innings to pick up his fifth save of the year; he allowed only a single runner to reach base on a walk.

At the plate, three Raiders had multi-hit games, leading to a game-high 11 hits. Kyle Fitzgerald went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Jake Randa went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and two walks, and Mikey Madej went 2-for-5 with a run scored.

Kaden Polcovich, Will Moriarty, Justice Lucas and Blaine Smith picked up a hit each, Moriarty driving in two runs with a double.

With the victory, the Raiders improve to 14-2 in March and have won 20 of their past 22.

NWF State returns to action at 5 p.m. Thursday on the road in Marianna against Chipola.