LAKELAND â€" When traditional Sunshine State Conference powers Florida Southern and Barry collide, it’s usually anyone’s guess as to what the outcome will be, but one thing is a near certainty. It’s probably going down to the final swing of the bat, with one team breathing a sigh of relief, and the other knowing victory was only a heartbeat away. In their Good Friday doubleheader, both teams experienced both sides of that story, as Barry took the first game 1-0, and Florida Southern earned a 4-3 win in the second.
Friday’s split allowed the Buccaneers (25-15, 7-5) to win the 3-game series, but it could have easily been a sweep for either team. All three games were decided by one run, and 10 of the last 13 meetings have either been one-run games or won by a team coming from behind in the seventh inning. That made Friday’s action just another day in the park, or in this case, Barnett Field, where Barry has won the series 2-to-1 in each of its last two visits, while Florida Southern (20-17, 6-9) has taken two-of-three in its last two trips to Miami Shores. The only other meeting between the two teams in the last four years was a 1-0 win by the Moccasins at the 2007 NCAA South Region Tournament.
Friday’s opener was a pitching duel between Barry’s Paula Mackin and Florida Southern’s Morgan Brown. Mackin (11-6) got the win by allowing only three hits, striking out four and walking three. Brown (3-1) got the loss, but deserved a lot better, after holding the Bucs to five hits, striking out three and walking no one. An unearned run in the fifth inning ultimately decided the game, but the Mocs also had trouble getting runners home when presented with chances to do so against Mackin.
Amanda Goelz had two of Barry’s five hits against Brown, and went 5-for-7 in the doubleheader, but it was an error that put her on to start the top of the fifth. Kayla Monroy bunted pinch-runner Julia Chongarlides to second, and pinch-hitter Sara Hipson followed with a single up the middle that knocked in the only run of the game.
Ironically, Mackin had a more difficult time holding the Mocs scoreless than Brown did limiting the Bucs to one run. Florida Southern had at least one base runner in every inning, and in fact, had at least one base runner in all but one inning of the entire 3-game series; but after stranding 11 in a 4-3 loss on Thursday night, the Mocs left eight more in game one Friday, before leaving 13 in game two.
Against Mackin, the Mocs had the leadoff runner on base in the first, third, sixth and seventh innings. Each time, Mackin worked out of trouble, including the bottom of the first when Bethany Boomer reached on a 2-base throwing error and took third on a wild pitch before an out was made. A ground out and two strikeouts left her there, and the Mocs were also kept off the board after Peggy Alex and Dezirae Parsons started the third inning with back-to-back walks.
Dani Blake was on base three times for the Mocs, and had two of their three hits, but she was caught stealing on one occasion, and stranded on the other two. The second time came when the Mocs loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh. Blake had led off the inning with a bunt single before Alex was hit by a pitch and Boomer reached on a two-out error. That brought Erin Foley up for what would likely be the final at-bat of the game no matter what the result. It ended with an out, as Barry centerfielder Grace Collins caught Foley’s fly ball after a long run into short left center, a ball that had it dropped in, would have given Florida Southern the win.
In game two, Barry out-hit Florida Southern 11-9, but three errors proved costly, as the Moccasins scored four unearned runs off Briana Smith. Three of them scored directly off Barry miscues, and the other came home on a wild pitch after an error. Boomer had two hits for the Moccasins, and scored two of their runs, while Lindsey Powell and Brittaney Alderman had two hits as well. Powell also made a diving catch in right field in the top of the seventh that may have saved the game.
Though Christine Clark gave up all 11 Barry hits, like Mackin before her, she effectively worked out of trouble, as the Buccaneers left nine runners on base. Clark struck out three and did not issue a walk, improving to 7-8.
Jessica Tabor was the big gun for the Bucs, going 3-for-4, while Goelz and Cassy Zamora also had three hits, and Goelz drove in their first two runs. Tabor was the key, however, as her three hits turned into runs in the first, third and seventh innings.
Each team scored single runs in the first and third before Florida Southern took a 4-2 lead with two in the bottom of the fourth. The inning started with a walk by Alex and a hit-and-run single by Heather Raulerson. Boomer then hit one into short left center near the same spot where Foley’s ball was caught to end game one. Collins again made the play, but this time it was an 8-5 force-out at third when Alex had to hold up at second base to make sure the ball wasn’t caught. The Mocs still got two runners in scoring position when Foley put down a sacrifice bunt, and both of them were able to score when Powell reached on a two-out error by the Bucs.
It was the second time in the game a ball hit by Powell led to runs being scored without an RBI. In the top of the first, her one-out single to center got past Collins, and allowed Boomer to score from second after starting the game with a hit.
The score remained 4-2 until the top of the seventh when Tabor led off with a triple and came home on a deep fly ball hit by Smith. It could have been worse. The ball was hit over Powell’s head in right, but the Moccasin right fielder made a spectacular play, running toward the fence with her back to the infield before going to the ground for the catch. It was the second time in the series Powell turned a would-be hit by Smith into a sacrifice fly. Clark then got the final two outs without issue to close out the game.
Smith suffered the loss for Barry, dropping to 9-4. She allowed four runs on five hits, with four strikeouts and four walks in 3.2 innings, but none of the runs were earned.
Florida Southern returns to the field on Friday, April 9, with a single game at Lynn. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
