LAKELAND â€" With a total of 27 base runners between them, Florida Southern and Barry had plenty of chances to score Thursday night in the first of their 3-game series, but the Buccaneers found a way to score just one run more. Brianna Smith’s sacrifice fly in the fifth inning drove in the go-ahead run, before the Moccasins left the tying run on base in both the sixth and seventh innings in a 4-3 win by Barry.
Not only did Smith’s sacrifice fly help bring the Buccaneers (24-14, 6-4) back from a 3-2 deficit, she was also the winning pitcher, dancing in and out of trouble all night long. The Moccasins (19-16, 5-8) had seven hits off Smith, who also issued six walks and hit a batter in her complete game effort. Only once did she retire the side in order, and only once did she retire the leadoff batter, yet in only one inning did the Mocs score. That came in the bottom of the third, when Lindsey Powell’s two-run double and an RBI single by Elli Howell erased a 2-0 lead by the Bucs, a lead they took in the top of the first inning without benefit of a hit.
That inning saw Cassy Zamora and Jessica Tabor both reach base on one-out walks. With Amanda Goelz at the plate after taking a pitch, Zamora broke late for third as the throw from catcher Heather Raulerson went back to Brittaney Alderman in the circle. Alderman tried to turn and fire the ball to third baseman Erin Foley, but the throw sailed into foul territory and rattled around long enough for not only Zamora to score, but Tabor to come in all the way from first as well.
In the bottom of the first, the Moccasins also received two walks, but were unable to get them home. They had another good scoring chance in the second after Dani Blake led off with an infield single and was bunted to second by Alderman. Raulerson came to the plate with two out and nearly drove her in with a bouncer up the middle, but Smith got a glove on it, slowed it down and sent it to Zamora at shortstop, who threw her out at first.
In the bottom of the third, the Mocs did get to Smith for three runs, an inning that started with back-to-back singles by Bethany Boomer and Foley. Powell then ripped a pitch to deep center that scored both of them, and Howell’s RBI single two batters later put the Mocs ahead 3-2. After Howell stole second, Blake was hit by a pitch and Alderman walked, but the Mocs left the bases loaded as Smith got a line drive and a strikeout to prevent further damage.
In the top of the fifth, the Bucs got their leadoff runner on when Tabor singled sharply into left and was bunted into scoring position by Goelz. Sarah Broeseker made it count with a base hit that scored Tabor, and took second on the throw to the plate. After a pitching change, Kayla Monroy reached on an error, bringing Smith to the plate with runners at first and third, and one out. Her line drive to right was caught on the run by Powell, who prevented an extra base hit but couldn’t stop Broeseker from tagging up and easily scoring from third.
The Bucs would threaten again in the sixth after hits by Stephany Soto and Grace Collins started the inning, but pitcher Christine Clark thwarted a squeeze play by throwing out Soto at the plate.
After that, Florida Southern got a leadoff single from Raulerson in the bottom of the sixth, and a leadoff single from Howell in the bottom of the seventh. Each time, the Mocs bunted the runners to second, but each time Smith got two more outs to keep them from scoring. By the end of the game, Florida Southern had left 11 runners on base, including seven in scoring position.
Smith’s win gave her a 9-3 record, while Alderman fell to 10-8. Each starting pitcher struck out four and walked six. Alderman allowed all four Barry runs in 4.1 innings, but only one of them was earned.
Florida Southern and Barry will meet again on Friday in a doubleheader scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
