IN BRIEF: It was a beautiful afternoon for baseball, and the Builders and the Gators went back and forth all evening. Things got stormy in the late innings but the Builders held on to win 7 to 5. Tyler Winegrad picked up the win in relief and Thomas Packert slammed the door in the 9th to earn his 5th save of the season. 

The Gators took an early 1 to 0 lead, but the Builders tied things up in the bottom of the 1st when Lou Picolo scored on the Maxwell Burcham sacrifice fly. The Gators would respond with two runs of their own to take a 3 to 1 lead. The Builders scored 1 run in the 2nd and 3 runs in the 4th to take a 5 to 3 lead. The Builders finally got a hold of the Gators starts with back to back singles from Cody Hendrickson and Brent Byrum. Both Hendrickson and Bryrum would score on the Thomas Packert double down the left field line. The Builders added one more in the inning off of a double from Brian Fritzinger. 

The 5 to 3 Builder lead didn't last for long though, as the Gators quickly tied the game at 5 a piece. The Builders bullpen would hold the Gators at 5 for the rest of the game. Tyler Winegrad entered the game in the 6th and threw 3 scoreless innings, striking out 6 batters. The Builders scored in the bottom of the 6th when Gevin Nixon doubled to right center. The Builders would add an insurance run in the 8th to take a 7-5 lead. With the wind howling and the rain pouring in, Winegrad would come out for the 9th. Isaiah Mack led off the inning with a double to center, and Coach Cavee turned to his closer, Thomas Packert. Packert would get 2 strikeouts and a ground ball and quickly put an end to the Gators threat. The Builders took game 1 of the series by a score of 7 to 5. 

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE:

• Thomas Packert was 1 for 3 with 2 RBIs
• Lou Picolo was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored
• Maxwell Burcham was 2 for 4 with an RBI

UP NEXT: The Builders will host Pine Manor College again tomorrow in a doubleheader that begins at 12:00 PM.