Baseball team hands No. 18 College of Central Florida first loss

The Eastern Florida State College baseball team handed the No. 1 team in the state, the College of Central Florida its first loss of the season on Wednesday afternoon on the road.

Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth, the College of Central Florida loaded the bases with one out but starting pitcher Darien Smith gets a big strikeout and then centerfielder AJ Mathis makes a diving catch to keep the game tied.

Mathis led off the top of the fifth inning and got things started with a triple. After a Garrett Evans walk, Kaeber Rog gave the Titans a lead with an RBI double. Kyle Dentmon drove in two more with a single to give Eastern Florida State College a 4-1 lead.

Up 4-2 in the sixth inning, Evans hit his first home run of the season to give the Titans a 6-2 lead.

The College of Central Florida would cut into the lead and threaten to tie the game with second and third with two out in the eighth inning. But Lake Fisher got the ground ball to end the threat. The Titans would score two more in the top of the ninth inning and Fisher finished the game for the save.

"This is such a big win for our program and the team's confidence," Eastern Florida State College baseball coach Jason Arnold said. "The pitching staff did a tremendous job not giving in against a really good offensive club. Drew Cavanaugh was simply amazing behind the plate."

Rog finished with four hits and Mathis had a double and a triple in the win.

The College of Central Florida, who is No. 18 in the NJCAA Division I Baseball Poll, falls to 4-1 on the season.

Eastern Florida State College improved to 2-2 with the win and will travel to Seminole State College Friday afternoon before hosting Seminole State College on Saturday afternoon at Bruce Bochy Field.