LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. --- The University of St. Francis baseball team tied its season-high hit total, but NAIA No. 2-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College stormed back from a 4-1 deficit to earn a 25-5 victory on Wednesday afternoon to wrap up the Fighting Saints' spring trip.  Nine different players contributed to USF's ten total hits with Jake Merda leading the way with his 2-for-3 day.

The Saints (2-9) scored a pair of runs in both the first and third innings to take the initial 4-1 lead before the Grizzly bats came alive to the tune of 24 runs between the third and sixth inning.  Ten Georgia Gwinnett players drove home runs with nine of those individuals recording multi-RBI games. 

Henry Daniels led the way, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and four runs batted in.

USF took advantage of three walks and two wild pitches to score its two runs in the first inning.  The initial run of the game scored on a wild pitch with Brant Singler driving in the latter on a sacrifice fly.

After Georgia Gwinnett (17-2) opened its half of the inning with a home run, the Saints came back to put up two more runs in the third inning with again the first run coming home on a wild pitch.  Max Montgomery's infield single then gave USF its biggest lead of the afternoon.

The Saints' final run came on a Drew Dant solo home run in the sixth inning.

Notes: Merda authored his first multi-hit game on the collegiate level … Malachi Riley's double in the seventh inning was his first hit as a Saint … Singler's RBI was his first in a St. Francis uniform … Dant, who recorded his second home run, now owns the Saints' longest hitting streak of the season at five games.  He has also reached base in all 11 games this season … Josh Kirnbauer extended his on-base streak to nine games, as well, on Wednesday, while Alex Martinez is at six straight games … Alex Mielcarz became the first Saint this season to steal two bases in a contest … USF is off until next Tuesday when it opens up defense of its conference regular-season title at home for two games against Saint Xavier University.

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