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Box Score 2
LAKELAND â€" It remains to be seen what teams from the Sunshine State Conference will make it to this year’s NCAA Tournament, but Wednesday night’s doubleheader between last year’s SSC co-champs certainly had the feel of a postseason encounter. When the dust settled, each team had a win as 23rd-ranked Rollins took game one, 6-3, and Florida Southern won the nightcap, 5-4.
In game one, the Tars (23-4, 2-1) led 6-0 after four innings before the Moccasins (16-12, 2-4) mounted a comeback and brought the tying run to the plate with one out in the bottom of the seventh. In game two, the story was nearly reversed, as the Moccasins took a 5-0 lead into the sixth before the Tars rallied and actually got the winning run on base in the top of the seventh. Each time, the team with the lead held on with the help of a timely pitching change, and each time, the team on the short end of the score felt victory was within their grasp.
There was no shortage of memorable moments in either game. For the Mocs, it had to start with Lindsey Powell, as the two-time All-SSC outfielder went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the first one, and 3-for-3 with four RBI in the second. Her night included an inside-the-park grand slam on a misplayed ball to center that gave the Mocs a 5-0 lead in the fifth inning of game two.
It also included a huge defensive play by Bethany Boomer, who made a shoe-top catch in right field and threw out a Rollins runner at the plate one inning earlier to get the Mocs out of a jam. It featured another impressive showing by freshman third baseman Erin Foley, who had three hits in the doubleheader and a spectacular catch on defense. Split-second timing by shortstop Dezirae Parsons was also involved in getting the win, as was clutch relief pitching by Christine Clark.
As for Rollins, the Tars got hits from seven different players in game one, saw six different players score a run, and received solid pitching from Christine Roser before Kirsten Frame saved the win in the seventh inning. They also got two hits and an RBI from Jessica Moreland in each game, and an unassisted double play by Moreland at first base late in the second one that gave them a chance to almost pull out a come-from-behind win.
Rollins took game one Wednesday by putting Florida Southern in an early hole for the second night in a row. The Tars turned second-inning singles by Moreland and Meredith Foster into two runs, and added another run in the third when Roser led off with a single and later scored on a two-out error.
The Tars doubled their lead with a 3-run fourth, highlighted by a 2-run single from Krista Rodden, and another run-scoring single by Moreland. Both of those hits came with two out, and Rollins scored five of its six runs in the game in just such a fashion.
Down 6-0, the Moccasins took advantage of a throwing error to score their first run in the bottom of the fifth. Dani Blake circled the bases for the Mocs after her bunt barely stayed fair, but was thrown all the way down the right field line by Rodden, who got out quickly from behind the plate to make the throw.
They added another run in the sixth on an RBI single by Powell, but left runners at first and third following a hit by Heather Raulerson.
The Mocs scored again in the seventh inning when they nearly pulled out the game. Roser hit Boomer with a pitch leading off the inning, but got out number one when Peggy Alex hit into a fielder’s choice. It was a close play for the Tars as Kristina Holland’s throw from third sailed a little wide but was snared at the very end of the glove by second baseman Kelly Jones who managed to keep her foot on the bag for the out. It was a critical stop, as Foley followed with a single that might have scored a run, and would have loaded the bases at the very least.
That hit by Foley forced the Tars to make a pitching change and turn Frame. The ace of the Rollins pitching staff was immediately called for a balk and then walked Clark to load the bases with one out. After getting a foul pop-up for the second out of the inning, Frame balked again, this time allowing Alex to score and get the Mocs within 6-3. The freshman stopped the rally there, however, by getting Powell on a ground ball back to the pitcher’s circle.
That gave Roser the win, moving her record to 5-2, while Frame earned her first save.
Clark (5-7) took the loss for Florida Southern, allowing all six runs, but only three of them were earned. The Mocs also got two scoreless innings of relief from Morgan Brown, giving them a chance to get back in the game.
Game two started off as a scoreless duel between Frame and Florida Southern’s Brittaney Alderman for four innings before the Mocs did all of their scoring in the bottom of the fifth. Most of that came from Powell, who became the first player in team history to hit an inside-the-park grand slam, though it came with a little bit of help.
Alex had given the Mocs their first base runner of the inning on a 3-base error by the Tars’ right fielder, and Blake gave them another with a slowly hit ground ball that went for an infield single. Alex couldn’t score on the play, but the Mocs soon had the bases loaded when Boomer walked for the third time on the night. Foley then singled into left for the first run of the game, bringing Powell to the plate with two hits already in the game. She made it 3-for-3 with a sinking line drive into center that Brittney Pumpelly attempted to catch with a lunging effort, only to have the ball bounce past her and roll all the way to the fence. It turned into Powell’s fourth home run of the season.
The play had a bit of irony as Florida Southern had dodged a bullet just one inning earlier on a very similar play with the roles reversed. This time, the Tars had the bases loaded with only one out and Kaycie Bevis was batting. However, her low line drive toward the rightfield line was caught by Boomer just off the grass. When Rodden tried to tag and score from third, Boomer threw a strike to the plate for an inning-ending double play.
The Tars still found a way to score though, pushing across two in the sixth and two in the seventh. It was the seventh that was especially troubling for the Moccasins, who made two errors in the inning, helping the Tars score their two runs without a hit.
Lauren Caldwell started the inning with a leadoff walk and Amber Pederson reached on the first of those errors to put runners on first and second. Alderman got Roser to hit a bouncer to short that Parsons flipped over to Foley at third for the first out, but a wild pitch advanced both runners who were still on base after that. Alderman then walked Rodden, with ball four going all the way to the backstop, allowing Pederson to score from third.
That prompted the Mocs to bring in Clark, who got a ground ball to Parsons only to have Moreland reach on an errant throw with Roser scoring on the play. That made the score 5-4 with runners at second and third, and still only one out for the Tars. Parsons atoned, however, on the very next play when she fielded a tricky bounce on a ball hit by Foster and never hesitated with her throw to the plate. It was just in time to get Rodden for the second out and keep the Mocs up by one.
Holland then hit a hard ground ball to Alex at second, who knocked it down and threw to first for the final out of the game. It gave Alderman the win after she allowed two earned runs on only four hits in 6.1 innings of work; she struck out three and walked five to improve to 9-5. The save was the first of the year for Clark.
Frame suffered only her second loss of the season against 16 wins, as the Mocs got to her for four earned runs on seven hits, with six strikeouts and two walks.
Florida Southern will be at home again this weekend when it hosts Eckerd College in another 3-game SSC series that begins with a single game Friday night at 7:00.
