Michael Parsons

Eastern Florida State College

Eastern Florida State College starting pitcher Carter Stewart struck out a season-high 15 hitters to lead the Titans past Indian River State College 4-0 in a Southern Conference game at Bruce Bochy Field.

The freshman from Eau Gallie allowed just one hit over eight dominant innings for his first win of the season. Stewart was perfect for the first three innings and faced just three hitters in six of his eight innings and had at least one strikeout in every inning.

“I felt good out there, the first inning I kind of got in a groove and I have been struggling in the first inning, so once I got past that, I just kept getting my fastball in for strikes, my curveball in for strikes, working my slider in there and the game flowed well,” Stewart said. “The defense was great today, they did an awesome job behind me.”

The win was the first of the season for Stewart, a former first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves, whose 15 strikeouts ties Taylor Jordan for the school record. Jordan was a former Washington Nationals pitcher.

More:Eau Gallie High standout and MLB draft pick Carter Stewart makes Titans debut

Teammate Andres Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out two.

“You win the first one, it makes the rest of the weekend less pressure filled. Carter came out and set the tone in the first inning,” Eastern Florida State College baseball coach Jason Arnold said. “When he came out locked in, in the first inning, you kind of had a feeling it could be a special night. He set the tone and was incredible tonight. He showed everyone here tonight why he was such a high draft pick and why he is being looked at the way he is.”

More:Jan. 29: EFSC falls in 10 innings in Stewart's debut

The Titans got on the board in the bottom of the second inning as Alejandro Rodriguez led off the inning with a single and later scored on Clayton Stanley’s groundout. EFSC added two more runs in the fifth inning when JD Stubbs and Austin Bates scored on an error.

The Titans made it 4-0 in the seventh inning when Steven Lugo drove in Bryan Pena.

Eastern Florida State College is now 3-1 in the Southern Conference and will travel to Indian River State College for Game 2 of the series Friday afternoon for a 2 p.m. game.