Stellar pitching and explosive offense spurs Raiders to 12-0 win over Gulf Coast

PANAMA CITY, FL - Northwest Florida defeated Gulf Coast 12-0 on Thursday thanks to a terrific effort from starting pitcher Dante Chirico that improved the Raiders to 21-7 overall and 2-0 in conference play.

Offensively, the Raiders were boosted by Austin Kelly who went 4-for-4 at the plate. Kelly homered in the first, doubled in the third, homered in the sixth, and singled in the seventh.

The biggest inning for NWF was the seventh, when the Raiders notched five runs behind RBIs by Cade Easterbrook, Kelly, Dalton McNamara, and Mason Janz.

For the game, the Raiders totaled 12 hits and defensively played a clean game with zero errors in the field.

Chirico earned the victory for Northwest Florida, as the freshman allowed three hits and zero runs over six and a third innings, striking out five and walking none. Jacob Blackman threw two-thirds of an inning in relief out of the bullpen.

The Raiders will next be in action when they wrap up the series at home to Gulf Coast on Saturday with a doubleheader that starts at 1:00 PM. 

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