LAKELAND â€" Three hits were all it took to win game one, but 11 hits and 10 runs were barely enough in game two. Lindsey Powell was the only Moccasin starter to hit safely in both of them, and it was a good thing too as she delivered the deciding blow in each game to lead Florida Southern to 2-1 and 10-8 victories over Saint Leo, as the Moccasins completed a three-game series sweep.
Florida Southern (31-10, 9-3 in the Sunshine State Conference) won two of those games in high-scoring fashion, but the middle game of the series was a pitcher’s duel between Brittany Minton and Saint Leo’s Ashley Urbanik. The Mocs won that one too, thanks in large part to Powell and Sara Lovestrand, but also Minton, who gave up just five hits and came up with another big strikeout at the end of the game with the tying run on base.
Florida Southern’s three hits came in three different innings, but only one of them led to a run. Their first run scored just two batters into the game when Lovestrand drew a leadoff walk, stole second and third, and touched the plate on a passed ball, with Peggy Alex standing at the plate the entire time.
Saint Leo (26-17, 5-7) had a chance to do some early scoring too, but left the bases loaded in the top of the second inning. Urbanik doubled, Ally Maddox walked and Dianne Gonzalez singled, but FSC third baseman Ashley Hunt grabbed a line drive off the bat of Ali Lamb, then fielded a ground ball and stepped on the bag for a force play that ended the inning.
Saint Leo did eventually score when Lamb belted a home run down the left field line leading off the top of the fifth, tying the game at one. The Lions then put two more runners on base with one out, only to have Minton get out of it by retiring both Tatiana Casis and Brittany Yates, the Lions’ three and four hitters.
In the bottom of the fifth, Florida Southern seized the momentum when Lovestrand was hit by a pitch and Alex bunted her into scoring position. Powell then pulled a pitch into the rightfield corner for a triple that put the Mocs on top, 2-1.
They threatened again in the bottom of the sixth when pinch-hitter Bethany Boomer singled, Lovestrand was hit again and Alex walked for the third time in the game. Just as Saint Leo did in the second inning though, Florida Southern did in the sixth, leaving the bases loaded without scoring a run.
That left Minton to shut down the Lions in the top of the seventh. She got two outs without difficulty before walking Tiffinee Harvey, then came back to end the game with a strikeout of Casis. It moved Minton’s record to 11-5 on the season. She struck out seven and walked four.
Urbanik took the loss despite giving up only three hits. However, she walked six and hit three batters, and both Moccasin runs came from that collection.
In the nightcap, Saint Leo jumped to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning after Harvey led off the game with her league-leading 15th double of the season. She would later score on a single by Casis, one of her four hits in the contest. Casis also scored in the inning on a fly ball by Maddox.
Right back came the Moccasins, as they scored four runs on five hits in the bottom of the first, bettering their game one totals in the first six batters. Powell drove in the first run after Alex had singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Angela Williams followed with an RBI triple and scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball before Elli Howell doubled and scored on a single by Hunt.
Saint Leo quickly erased the 4-2 deficit with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the second inning, with Amber Martyn and Casis driving them in with extra base hits.
The Moccasins broke that 4-4 tie with a run in the bottom of the second and another in the bottom of the fifth, and each time scored without benefit of a hit. A walk by Dani Blake set up the second-inning run, which scored on a ground ball by Alex. Williams then walked to start the fifth inning, stole second and took third on the same play when the pitch bounced all the way to the backstop. When Howell hit a fly ball down the rightfield line in foul territory, Williams was able to tag and score as second baseman Ali Lamb made the catch with her back to the infield.
A solo home run by Lamb in the top of the sixth got Saint Leo within 6-5 before Florida Southern scored four times in the bottom of the sixth. Boomer started the inning with her second pinch-hit single of the doubleheader and eventually scored on a single by Lovestrand. After Blake scored on an error, Powell came up with another big hit by plating two more runs with a base hit to center, giving the Mocs a 10-5 lead.
Those final two runs proved to be crucial when Urbanik blasted a three-run homer for Saint Leo in the top of the seventh inning.
Christine Clark earned the win for Florida Southern, coming into the game in the second inning with none out, and allowing just one run in 5.1 innings of work. She gave up four hits and no walks, but never more than one base runner in any one inning. She got assistance from Natalie Lang in the top of the fifth, with the Mocs still leading 5-4. Lang made a running catch in left center and was able to make a strong throw all the way to first to double off Casis. Clark’s win was her ninth against three defeats, and the freshman improved to 4-0 in conference play.
Florida Southern will head to Miami Shores for a three-game series against defending SSC champion Barry University this weekend. The Moccasins and Buccaneers begin play with a single game on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
