The College of Central Florida Patriots faced a challenging road trip on Saturday, dropping a doubleheader to the Miami Dade College Sharks. While the opener saw the Patriots struggle to find their rhythm against good pitching, the second game was a back-and-forth battle that came down to the final swing.
Game 1: Handa Shuts Down Patriot Bats
The Sharks took the opener 8-0 in six innings, driven by a dominant performance from Miami Dade ace Amanda Handa. Handa kept the Patriots off-balance all afternoon, surrenderring only three hits while racking up eight strikeouts.
CF had a prime opportunity to strike in the second inning when Kaylee Riles, Samantha Albert, and Abbie Roach all drew walks to load the bases. However, Handa managed to escape the jam with a strikeout, leaving three stranded. Defensively, the Patriots were hampered by four errors that allowed the Sharks to extend several innings and pull away late.
Game 2: Late Surge Stuns Patriots in Walk-Off
The second game of the day was a much tighter affair, as the Patriots (13-28, 4-21) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and appeared poised for a split.
CF got on the board in the second inning when Abbie Roach crossed the plate on a clutch RBI single from Payton Livingston. The momentum continued in the third as Hope Jordan reached base and was later driven home by a Samantha Albert single to center. Jordan would score again in the fifth after a Shark error, giving the Patriots a comfortable three-run cushion heading into the final frames.
However, the Miami Dade offense began to chip away. A run in the bottom of the fifth cut the lead to two, and the Sharks saved their biggest rally for the bottom of the seventh. With the game on the line, Miami Dade used a sequence of singles and a sacrifice fly to tie the score at 3-3. The comeback was completed when Cate Haggerty doubled down the left-field line, scoring the winning run for a 4-3 walk-off victory.
CF will look to bounce back as they return home to Ocala this Tuesday, April 14, for a conference doubleheader against Santa Fe College. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM.