MELBOURNE â€" For Florida Southern to win its first Sunshine State Conference game of the season, would it take a no-hitter from freshman pitcher Brittaney Alderman? Not quite, but it sure was close. Would it take clutch hits from juniors Heather Raulerson and Peggy Alex? Yes it did, and those two hits were enough to give the Moccasins two seventh-inning runs and a 2-0 win at Florida Tech in the series finale.
Alderman allowed only two base runners in the game, a walk in the fourth and an infield single in the seventh. She struck out five in her first college shutout, but it took the big hits from Raulerson and Alex to get her the win.
Florida Southern (5-4, 1-2) got its leadoff batter on base in the first, third, fifth and seventh innings, but it took until the seventh to get that runner home. Raulerson started the inning with a single through the left side of the infield and after the Mocs were unable to get her into scoring position with one batter, they got her there with the next. Bethany Boomer’s sacrifice bunt was good enough to do that, and it also forced the Panthers into an error, giving the Mocs runners at first and third with one out. After Boomer stole second, Alex delivered a single through the same slot Raulerson found, driving in the tie-breaking run.
The Moccasins added another run moments later when Alex stole second, drawing the throw there while Boomer came home on the back end of the play.
Held without a hit through the first six innings, Florida Tech got one in the bottom of the seventh to extend the drama. After Alex threw out Brittany Memoli on a close play to start the inning, Brianna Barth hit a slow bouncer into the hole at short. Dezirae Parsons slid to her knee to field it cleanly, but even with a strong throw to first, she was unable to get Barth; but while it cost Alderman a no-hitter, it didn’t cost Florida Southern the game. The next two batters flied out to Boomer in left, bringing it to a close.
It also ended another brilliant game for Alderman (3-2), who had pitched 14 shutout innings in the series opener, only to suffer a 1-0 loss when the Panthers (9-6, 2-1) scored in the bottom of the 15th.
On Sunday, the Mocs had seven base runners in the first six innings but stranded all of them, while the Panthers had just one base runner of their own. Barth walked with two out in the bottom of the fourth and moved to second on a wild pitch, but Alderman got Kara Dickinson on a ground out to end the inning. The only thing close to a hit during that time came in the second inning when Lani Ankiel lifted a fly ball into short centerfield, but Erin Foley denied her with a long running catch.
Meanwhile, the Moccasins threatened in nearly every inning, only to be turned away by Florida Tech pitchers Tiffani Bishop and Brianna Barth. Bishop gave up leadoff hits to Boomer in the first and third, and got out of trouble each time. She also hit Foley with one out in the second before giving up a single to Mallory Butler, but she worked out of that situation too.
Even with the game still scoreless, Bishop was pulled after the third inning in favor of Barth, who had to work out of a jam herself in the top of the sixth. Base hits by Elli Howell and Parsons gave the Mocs a pair of base runners with one out, but Barth came back with consecutive strikeouts to keep them from scoring. She had 10 strikeouts in only four innings pitched, but was undone by the two unearned runs in the top of the seventh. Barth fell to 6-3 with the loss.
Florida Southern will be right back on the field Monday night when it hosts Dominican College (NY) in a doubleheader beginning at 6:00 p.m.
