Titans Drop Regular Season Finale to Finish Second

Eastern Florida's baseball team closed its regular season with a 2-0 home loss to Miami Dade College on Thursday.

The defeat at Bruce Bochy Field dropped the Titans to 17-11 in the FCSAA Southern Conference, denying them the opportunity to win the conference title.

The championship instead goes to Broward College, which also finished 17-11 but held the tiebreaker over the Titans by virtue of their 4-3 edge in head-to-head games.

The Titans finished second and gained their first outright berth in the NJCAA Gulf District/FCSAA Tournament under head coach Jeff Tam. They open the tournament against Mid-Florida Conference champion Santa Fe College at 7 p.m. May 15 at Lakeland's Henley Field.

Miami Dade sophomore right-hander Michael Perez limited the Titans to five hits on Thursday in a complete-game effort, not allowing a runner past second base. It was the first time the Titans were shut out all season.

Perez struck out three and induced 12 ground ball outs.

Titan sophomore John Capra finished the game with two hits, both singles. Freshman Gian Jimenez had a double.

Miami Dade had nine hits including a solo home run by sophomore Chris Bec in the fourth inning.

Titan sophomore starter Daniel Garmendia took the loss.

The Titans finished 32-16 overall. Miami Dade improved to 27-19. The Sharks will compete in a tournament play-in game against the Mid-Florida third-place team on May 2.

The game was the home finale for sophomores John and Vinny Capra, Garmendia, Luis (Jay) Ciuro, Cody Neal, Rueben Garcia, Matt Meyers, Jake Walsh, Cutter Dyals, Blair Calvo, Manny Rodriguez and Michael Shaffer.