Romero strikes out 11 in Titans win over Miami Dade

Tommy Romero made sure the Eastern Florida State College baseball team came away with a Southern Conference win on Friday night.

The starting pitcher tossed eight strong innings as the Titans posted a 5-2 win over Miami Dade to close the gap between second and third in the conference.

Romero gave up two runs in the first inning, but settled down to shut out the Sharks the next seven innings, allowing the Titans to come back and get the win.

"I always struggle in the first inning, but I just had to settle down and hit my spots," Romero said. "Just felt good today, making all my pitches and the infield was making all the plays, just executed well and stuck with it."

The right-hander finished the night with 11 strikeouts and two walks to pick up the win. Tim Luth pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.

Down 2-0 in the first inning, the Titans went to work as Sammy Duran ripped a triple and scored on a passed ball. The Titans tied the game in the third inning when leadoff hitter Norberto Navarro waked, stole second and advanced to third on a bad throw. He would score the tying run on an error.

Romero allowed two hits in the next four innings and both were caught stealing by good throws by catcher Jeff Korte.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Ian Acevedo was hit by a pitch and scored on Elian Merejo's double and then Ian Lisle drove in Korte and Merejo with a single to give the Titans a 5-2 lead.

It was all Romero and Luth needed, as they allowed three hits in the final four innings.

"It's a good win for us, they are a good team and we need to come out and get another one tomorrow," Romero said.

Korte, Merejo and Dylan Owens each had two hits in the game. The Titans and Sharks will face off again at 1 p.m. Saturday at Bruce Bochy Field.