Miami Dade Drops Game 1 in Late-Inning Heartbreaker

In a thrilling opener to their doubleheader, Miami Dade came up just short in a 7-6 loss to Eastern Florida State College, despite a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Eastern Florida jumped ahead early, scoring two runs in the first inning off RBI hits from Avery Velazquez and Madison Velazquez. Miami Dade chipped away with single runs in the second and third — an error allowed Dana Piri to score, followed by an Amanda Handa RBI double to tie it 2-2.

Things remained tight until the sixth, when Eastern Florida broke it open with three runs, highlighted by Jessica Merk's two-RBI single and Aracelis Jimenez's RBI knock to take a 5-2 lead. Merk added another RBI in the seventh with a sac fly to extend the lead to 7-2.

Miami Dade refused to go quietly. In the bottom of the seventh, Caroline Mito and Handa sparked a comeback with back-to-back RBI hits, followed by a clutch 2-RBI single from Gabriela Luz to bring the Sharks within one. But with the tying run on base, Eastern Florida's Avery Velazquez held firm to secure the complete-game win.

Velazquez (15-8) went all seven innings, giving up six earned runs on seven hits while striking out three. Carina Amarilla (11-4) took the loss for Miami Dade, surrendering five runs over six innings.

Miami Dade's offense was led by Mito (3-for-4, 1 RBI, 2 runs) and Handa (2-for-3, 2 RBI), but it wasn't quite enough to overcome the Titans' 13-hit attack.