Stellar pitching leads NWF past Chipola in series opener

MARIANNA, FL - After having to wait several days to begin their highly-anticipated series against Chipola, the Northwest Florida State College baseball team traveled to Marianna on Thursday for game one with first place on the line.  Despite the delayed start to the series, the Raiders eliminated any concerns about rust and proved to be locked in from the opening pitch.  Thanks to an incredible, complete game effort from starting pitcher Caleb Reis, NWF took control and never looked back in route to an impressive 8-2 win over the Indians.  The victory moved the Raiders into a tie for first-place in the conference standings, setting up even more anticipation for the remaining three games in the series.

After getting behind 1-0 early in the first inning, the Raiders started to respond in the second inning.  In the top of the second, Northwest Florida tied things up at one with a Cade Easterbrook sac fly.

The Raiders took the lead for good with one run in the third inning. In the inning, Nichols grounded out, scoring one run to take the lead, 2-1.

In the fifth inning, NWF decided it was not trying to get into a back and forth affair by trading leads every other inning. The top of the fifth is where the Raiders pulled away by notching four runs thanks to RBI's by Carlos Guzman, AJ Frtiz, and Scott Mudler.

Caleb Reis was outstanding for nine innings. The right hander earned the win, allowing six hits and only two runs the entire game while striking out eight and only walking one.

To put a cap on the scoring, AJ Fritz hit a home run in the ninth inning to extend the Raider lead to 8-2. 

The Raiders tallied eight hits in the game. Guzman and Frtiz each had three hits to lead Northwest Florida.

NWF now improves to 27-12 overall and 8-5 in conference play.  They will next be in action at Chipola College on Friday, April 8 at 2:00 PM.

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