NWF Baseball Downs Miami Dade, Falls to Florence-Darlington

PALATKA, Fla. – Fourth-ranked Northwest Florida State baseball split a pair of games on the final day of the John Tindall Classic on Saturday. The Raiders fell to Florence-Darlington, 12-3, before rebounding to defeat No. 15 Miami Dade, 6-2. 

Florence-Darlington 12, Northwest Florida 3

The Raiders (9-4) fell behind early and could never recover in a 12-3 loss to Florence-Darlington.

NWF fell behind 2-0 in the first inning when Stinger first baseman Gary Lora singled home a pair of runs. Florence-Darlington added to its lead with three runs in the third to take a 5-0 advantage.

The Raiders clawed back into the game with three runs in the fifth – two coming on consecutive walks with the bases loaded – but the Stingers put the game away with a five-run sixth.

Trace Willhoite and Tyler Kehoe collected the only two hits of the game for Northwest Florida.

Northwest Florida 6, Miami Dade 2

Dylan DeLucia was spectacular on the mound for the Raiders in a 6-2 win over No. 15 Miami Dade.

The right-hander struck out 10 in 6.2 innings of work. DeLucia allowed one run on five hits to earn his second win of the season.

Offensively, Reagan Burford was the igniter finishing the game 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Burford hit a solo home run in the first, singled in the fourth, and singled home two runs in the sixth.

Northwest Florida returns home on Feb. 23 to face Bishop State at 3 p.m.

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