Madden’s complete game shutout leads the Raiders past Pensacola

PENSACOLA, FL - Locked in a tight battle for a post-season berth with just a week to go in the regular season, the Northwest Florida State College baseball team traveled to Pensacola on Wednesday with a great sense of urgency, knowing the magnitude of what a win would provide.

Thanks to a dominant performance on the mound by starting pitcher Jake Madden, the Raiders rode the freshman's right arm for nine shutout innings in route to a crucial 4-0 win over the Pirates.  Madden went all nine innings, allowing zero runs on five hits and striking out ten Pensacola batters.

Offensively, the Raiders tallied six hits in the ballgame.  The scoring damage began in the fifth inning when Brant Smith, AJ Fritz, and Carlos Guzman started the inning with three straight singles.  Mason Janz drove in two with a line drive to center.  After a bunt single by Tyler Kehoe, Blake Cavill plated another run thanks to a sac fly.  The three runs were more than enough behind Madden's sterling performance. 

The victory pulled NWF to within one game of the coveted second place spot behind Tallahassee, whom the Raiders will host on Friday, April 22 at 2:00 PM for the first of a huge two-game set with the Eagles.  NWF will complete the two-game series with TCC in Tallahassee on Saturday afternoon.

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