LAKELAND â€" A fabulous freshman year made Christine Clark one of the league’s top returning players in 2010, and her sophomore season is off to a super start. Clark pitched six shutout innings in game one, then had two of Florida Southern’s 12 hits in game two as the Moccasins beat Northwood (FL), 3-0 and 12-4 in their season opener.
Though she didn’t start a game until early March, Clark was Second Team All-Sunshine State Conference in 2009 with a 14-4 record. This year, her first start came in the Mocs’ first game, and the lefthander allowed only three hits in six innings while striking out four and walking one. The only time the Seahawks came close to scoring was in the top of the fourth when they loaded the bases with two out on a double, a walk and a single. Clark ended the threat, however, by fielding a ground ball in the pitcher’s circle and flipped it to first for the final out.
Clark retired the side in order in both the fifth and sixth innings before Morgan Brown came on to pitch a scoreless seventh for the save.
The Moccasins backed Clark with single runs in the first, third and fourth innings, though they were held to four hits in the game by Northwood pitcher Judy Godfrey. It was a tough loss for Godfrey, who fell to 0-2 on the season despite allowing just two earned runs.
Florida Southern got two of its four hits in the bottom of the first, and used them to score its first run of the game. Peggy Alex reached on a one-out single, and Lindsey Powell followed with a ground ball to second. Chantelle Neff tried to get the lead runner, but her throw was late, with Powell also safe at first. Elli Howell followed with an infield single that loaded the bases, and a ground out by Ashlinn Rodgers brought in Alex.
In the third, Godfrey got the first two outs and appeared to have the third when Powell hit a fly ball into left field. The ball was missed though, resulting in a rare four-base error that sent Powell sprinting around the bases for the Mocs’ second run.
They tacked on another in the fourth when a base hit by Dezirae Parsons plated Ashley Hunt, who had walked and swiped second ahead of her.
In game two, the Moccasins scored three runs on four hits in the bottom of the first, led 8-1 after four innings, and went on to win by the eight-run rule. Among their 12 hits were six for extra bases, with Powell providing a two-run homer in the first, a double in the third, and a walk as part of a four-run fourth.
The Mocs also got two hits apiece from Bethany Boomer and Erin Foley, in addition to Clark’s two hits (a single and a double). Boomer was the big run producer with a fielder’s choice RBI in the third and a two-run single in the fourth with the bases loaded.
Foley, a freshman from Bartow High School, was a part of four of the five innings in which Florida Southern scored. She led off the bottom of the first with a double and came home a triple by Alex into the right centerfield gap. She then singled and stole second to get the Mocs started in the fourth, eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly by Howell. Foley also walked and scored on a single by Howell in the fifth, and ended the game one inning later when her ground ball to third was mishandled for a bases-loaded error that allowed two runs to score.
Brittaney Alderman earned the win with four innings of work in her first college start, allowing just one run on two hits. The freshman from George Jenkins High School struck out four and walked none before giving way to Brown who pitched the final two innings.
The Seahawks were held to four hits in the game and also committed four errors that led to five unearned runs. One of those hits was a base hit by Chloe Labarador that gave Northwood a run in the second inning off Alderman, but centerfielder Mallory Butler prevented further damage by throwing out a runner at third.
Florida Southern will face another school from The Sun Conference in its next doubleheader, hosting Webber International on Saturday, February 13, at 1:00 p.m.
