NWF Baseball Cruises Past Hillsborough

FORT MYERS, La. – No. 4 Northwest Florida State baseball scored five runs in the third inning and four runs in the fifth to cruise past Hillsborough, 12-5, on Saturday to wrap up play in the Florida Southwestern Classic. 

The Raiders (1-2) exploded for five runs in the third, all with two outs. Three of those runs came courtesy of a Cherokee Nichols homer to left.

In the fourth, Austin Kelly tripled home Reagan Burford before Luke Boynton smashed a home run to left to plate a pair. Later in the frame, Seth Williams singled to score Trace Willhoite.

Willhoite finished the game with three hits and three runs scored. Kelly and Williams had two hits each.

On the mound, Thomas Wilhite got the start and went three innings and surrendered just one hit. Christian Mracna allowed a run and struck out two in the three innings of relief.

Northwest Florida State heads to Pensacola on Saturday to take part in a three-team round-robin at Blue Wahoos Stadium. The Raiders play Coastal Alabama – East at 1:30 p.m. and Pensacola at 4:30 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets through the Blue Wahoos ticket office or by clicking HERE.

For more information on Northwest Florida State Athletics, visit NWFRaiders.com or follow us on Twitter at @NWFRaiders.