LAKELAND â€" Tuesday night’s game between Florida Southern and Saint Leo had a little bit of everything, except pitching. Then, when Brittany Minton entered the game, it had that too. While Minton shut down a potent Saint Leo lineup, the Moccasin lineup banged out 13 hits, stole five bases, and scored in all but one inning to down the Lions 12-4 in the first of a three-game series.
The Moccasins (29-10, 7-3 in the Sunshine State Conference) won by the eight-run rule for the fourth time in the last five games with nearly every hitter in the lineup reaching base at least twice. Dani Blake led the way with three hits, while Sara Lovestrand, Lindsey Powell, Angela Williams and Elli Howell all had two. The best stat line, though, may have belonged to Peggy Alex. Batting in the #2 slot, the sophomore second baseman managed to score three runs with one RBI, even without an official at-bat. In five plate appearances Alex walked twice, was hit by a pitch, and had two sacrifice bunts.
The game looked like it would be a slugfest from the start as the Mocs scored two in the bottom of the first, the Lions (26-15, 5-5) scored two in the top of the second, and the Mocs re-took the lead with a solo run in the bottom of the second. In the top of the fourth, the Lions again scored two runs, with an RBI double by Tiffinee Harvey giving them a 4-3 lead. Tatiana Casis, the SSC leader with 14 home runs, came to the plate after Harvey and that’s when the game changed.
With Casis already hitting a triple and a double off FSC starter Christine Clark, the Mocs brought Minton out of the bullpen to bring the game under control. The senior did just that, striking out Casis for the final out of the inning. The Mocs then scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth, two of them on a two-out single by Natalie Lang that gave them a 6-4 lead. A five-run fifth blew the game open, and the Mocs scored their final run on an error in the bottom of the sixth.
It was Minton, though, who turned the game around. After the strikeout that ended the Saint Leo fourth, Minton (10-5) allowed just one hit in the final two innings after the Lions had eight in the first four. She struck out five and walked one.
Minton couldn’t have known the Mocs would score like they did, but the way they started, maybe she should. Their first run came three batters into the game when Lovestrand walked, stole second and came home on a base hit by Powell. Alex also scored in the first inning after being hit with a pitch, as Howell drove her in with an infield single.
A two-run double by Ali Lamb tied the game in the top of the second, but the Mocs scored in the bottom of the second to re-claim the lead. Blake, who had reached on a bunt single, scored that one on a squeeze play by Alex.
The bottom of the order again helped the Lions scored in the fourth inning when Lamb walked and Amber Martyn followed with a double. A sac fly by Elysha Agen then tied the game at three and Harvey doubled in Martyn just before Minton entered the game for Florida Southern.
Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth, the Mocs saw Blake pick up her second hit of the game but she was erased on a double play turned by Agen at short. The rally didn’t die, however, as Alex drew a walk, Powell singled, and Williams also singled to tie the score. After Saint Leo pitcher Ashley Urbanik was called for a balk, Lang singled down the leftfield line, bringing in two more runs and giving Florida Southern the lead the rest of the night.
An inning later, the Mocs scored five times off five hits, with the Lions also committing two errors. The biggest play came after Clark led off with a single and Blake put down a bunt that turned into an infield single and more. Not only were the Lions unable to throw Blake out at first, the ball went all the way into the rightfield corner, allowing both Clark and Blake to circle the bases for an 8-4 lead. It got worse when Lovestrand singled and the Lions unsuccessfully tried to throw her out at second on another bunt by Alex. When the two base runners pulled off a double steal, an attempted throw down to third base rolled into leftfield as Lovestrand scored the Mocs’ ninth run of the game and their third of the inning.
Williams and Howell would later drive in two more runs for Florida Southern before the game ended on a throwing error in the bottom of the sixth.
The same teams will play again on Wednesday night in a doubleheader scheduled for 6:00 at Barnett Field.
