SAINT LEO â€" In a season full of tough losses, half of them by either one run or in extra innings, it looked like Florida Southern might add to that total in the opener of a 3-game series at Saint Leo. A late rally by the Lions, a strange bounce that went against the Moccasins, and here we go again â€" only this time with a much happier ending. Erin Foley saw to that, as the freshman hit a tie-breaking 2-run double in the top of the ninth, helping the Mocs earn a 5-2 win over Saint Leo.
Foley had three of Florida Southern’s 12 hits as the Moccasins (22-19, 8-11) scored two runs in the top of the first but no more until the game went to extra innings. In between, Christine Clark held the Lions (18-24, 5-8) scoreless until the bottom of the sixth when Tiffinee Harvey hit a solo home run to break up the shutout. In the bottom of the seventh they scored again, turning a double by Dianne Gonzalez into the tying run.
Gonzalez got that hit with one out and took third on a ground out by Jaime Walker. That’s when things really went against the Moccasins. Danielle Moreda hit a soft looping pop up that was just high enough to get over Clark in the pitcher’s circle, but hit weakly enough that shortstop Dezirae Parsons had no time to catch it on the fly. Parsons might have still thrown her out, but the ball had such unusual spin, it bounced completely sideways in the opposite direction. That gave Moreda an infield hit and allowed Gonzalez to score.
The top of the eighth was the only time all night the Mocs were retired in order, but the Lions loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning on two hits and an error. Clark got out of it with a fly ball caught on the run in right center by Brittaney Alderman, giving the Mocs another chance in the top of the ninth. They turned that chance into three runs.
Alderman started the inning with a base hit and Heather Raulerson reached on an error. After a sacrifice by Peggy Alex, Bethany Boomer hit a slow roller back to pitcher Ashton Whidden, whose first look to Alderman at third prevented her from getting an out at first. That brought Foley to the plate with the bases loaded and the freshman lashed a double down the rightfield line that knocked in two runs and gave the Mocs a 4-2 lead. Clark drove in another run with a single, and the Mocs were back in control.
The Lions got another hit from Moreda in the bottom of the ninth, but Clark struck out the next two batters to end the game. She gave up eight hits on the night, struck out four and walked one to improve to 9-8. The sophomore also had two hits, one walk and two RBI at the plate.
The Mocs had started the game with back-to-back singles by Boomer and Foley before Whidden got Lindsey Powell to bounce into a fielder’s choice at third. Clark then drove a pitch off the fence in right center for a double that brought in Foley, and Powell later scored on a two-out infield single by Dani Blake.
Florida Southern had several chances to add to the score or even blow the game open, but the big hit didn’t come until the ninth, though the Mocs had base runners in all but one inning.
One of their best scoring chances came in the top of the third when Foley led off with her second hit of the game and Powell followed her with a ground ball hit to third. Moreda’s throw to second, however, was too late to get Foley, giving the Mocs runners at first and second with none out. Whidden (12-11) got another ground ball that resulted in a force out at third, and then got out of the inning when second baseman Ana Castillo dove to her knees to catch a line drive by Elli Howell and double Clark off first.
The Mocs were also unable to score after getting two runners in the fifth, and a big play by Saint Leo shortstop Elysha Agen kept them from scoring in the sixth. In that inning, Alderman had doubled and was at third base with two out when Alex came to the plate. Agen denied her a hit and the Mocs a run when she went deep in the hole to field a ground ball and just nip Alex at first for the final out of the inning.
While Alex lost a hit on that play, she took at least two of them away from Saint Leo. The Moccasin second baseman made three big plays in the game, the most impressive coming in the bottom of the fourth with a diving catch behind the first base bag in foul territory. After the Mocs had taken the lead in the top of the ninth, she Alex started the bottom of the ninth by ranging far to her left to grab a ground ball hit by Walker, spun around and fired to first for the out.
Florida Southern and Saint Leo wrap up their series with a doubleheader Wednesday night at 6:00.
