Tebow homers in second game with St. Lucie

Through everything Tim Tebow has experienced in the days since he was  promoted to Class A Advanced St. Lucie, one thing continues to stand out for the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner: competition.
Back in his home state, where he made a name for himself on the gridiron, Tebow went 3-for-5 with a homer and a walk in his first two Florida State League games on Wednesday, but the Mets were swept in a doubleheader by Palm Beach in front of a crowd of 2,315 at First Data Field.

Video: Tim Tebow homers in the second against Palm Beach
"It's great to always have the support," he told TCPalm.com. "But for us, honestly, we're looking forward to tomorrow and getting a little bit better and try to get a win."
For Tebow, the joy of hitting the ball over the fence did not compare to the feelings that he experienced in his final at-bat of the day. The former NFL quarterback waged an eight-pitch battle with southpaw Jacob Evans in the sixth inning of the nightcap. With the Mets trailing, 5-3, he grounded out to third.
"You know what I really like? I really like competing. I really like stuff like the last at-bat," Tebow said with a smile. "When you get down and it's lefty-on-lefty and you just kind of battle. You just have fun and compete. I don't know, I just love it."
Gameday box score
The 29-year-old outfielder played his final game with Class A Columbia on Sunday and left the South Atlantic League with a .222/.316/.338 slash line, three homers and 23 RBIs. In 67 games, Tebow has more long balls than NBA legend Michael Jordan produced in 127 games in his 1994 season with Double-A Birmingham.
"Honestly, it felt good the last couple weeks in Columbia," he said. "I just tried to carry it over and put the bat on the ball and hit it hard. I was thankful I could get one out tonight."
Tebow was the designated hitter in the opener and played left field in the nightcap. He showed signs of being anxious in his first at-bats at the Class A Advanced level, swinging at the first offering in three of his six trips to the plate.
In Game 1, he led off the third inning by striking out looking on three pitches against Cardinals starter Connor Jones.
Tebow started the fifth against the right-hander and took a hack at the first pitch, grounding a single back up the middle. He got ahead in the count facing reliever Dailyn Martinez with one out in the final frame and worked a seven-pitch walk but was stranded at first as the Mets fell, 5-2.
Tebow, who homered in his first at-bats in the fall instructional League and the South Atlantic League, needed four plate appearances to clear the fences in the Florida State League. He followed Michael Paez's one-out single in the second inning of the nightcap and got ahead, 3-1, on Cardinals No. 10 prospect Junior Fernandez before sending a fly ball over the fence in center.
"The kid threw very hard," Tebow said. "Going in, the scouting report is he's between 95 and 99 [mph]. He started out with a first-pitch changeup over the top, really good pitch. Then he threw me some fastballs, but he was a little wild on them, so he got 3-1 and I was hoping he was going to give me a fastball.
"He did, and I tried to make the most of it."
Tebow faced Fernandez again in the fourth and lined a 1-0 pitch up the middle for a base hit, finishing his day against right-handers with a homer, two singles, a walk and two RBIs.

Paez led off the sixth with a double against Evans to put a runner in scoring position for Tebow, who slapped a 2-2 pitch hard on the ground the other way. Third baseman Leobaldo Pina made an excellent stop and tossed to first for the out.
"Gosh, you know what, if it got through then probably that one to be honest with you," Tebow said when asked to compare his homer to his final at-bat. "Because it's just competition. That's what I've done for a long time and that's what I really enjoy."
The Mets also dropped the second game, 5-3.
After going 0-for-3 in the opener, Paez collected a double and a single in the nightcap, while Mets No. 9 prospect Peter Alonso picked up a pair of hits in Game 1.
Palm Beach leadoff man Darren Seferina went 4-for-5 with a triple, double, three runs scored and an RBI across both games.