Kelly Comes Up Clutch to Upend Chipola, Martin Wins 400th
NICEVILLE, Fla. – Catcher Austin Kelly crushed a line drive to deep center with two outs in the ninth scoring Trace Willhoite from second to hand Northwest Florida its fourth consecutive victory, 7-6. The win also marked the 400th for head coach Doug Martin.
With the game tied at six, Willhoite and Seth Williams worked back-to-back one-out walks. Following a strikeout, Kelly laced the first pitch he saw off the bottom of the wall in center for his second hit of the night, ending the game.
The Raiders (24-12, 10-6 PC) took a 6-5 lead in the eighth on a Reagan Burford solo home run but Chipola scratched across a run in the top of the ninth to again draw level.
Northwest Florida plated five runs in the third to take a 5-1 advantage. Nasir Frederick, the reigning FCSAA Player of the Week, led off the frame with his fourth home run in his last five games.
Carlos Guzman and Burford drove in runs before Tyler Kehoe singled home two more to cap the inning.
The Indians clawed back in the game with three runs in the fifth and eventually tied the game on a run-scoring ground ball in the sixth.
Kelly and Kehoe each finished the game with two hits while Burford and Kehoe drove in a pair of runs apiece.
Dylan Ross got the start on the mound and tossed five innings allowing four runs on five hits. He struck out four in the contest.
Caleb Reis surrendered one earned run in three innings of relief and fanned three batters, while Dylan DeLucia slammed the door with a clean ninth inning.
The Raiders return to action Sunday at Chipola. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.
For more information on Northwest Florida State athletics, visit NWFRaiders.com or follow the team on Twitter at @NWFRaiders.