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CLERMONT â€" Florida Southern hit so well in Monday’s first game, the timeliness of those hits really wasn’t an issue. In the second game, Dayna Hunn and Devin Mathews made sure the Moccasins got them when they needed them the most. The Mocs got two more wins from Christine Clark too as they took a pair of game at the National Training Center, downing Wilmington (DE) 8-0, and Mary (ND) 3-1.
In their first game of the day, the Moccasins (9-2) scored two runs in the bottom of the second, three more in the bottom of the third, and went on to defeat the Wildcats (1-4) by the 8-run rule in six innings. The Mocs out-hit the Wildcats 13-3, and had five different players with at least two. One of those was Randi Grimes, who went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, while Christie Bailey was 2-for-3 and also drove in a pair of runs.
It was Bailey who gave Florida Southern its first runs in the bottom of the second inning. Following a base hit by Clark and a walk by Hunn, Bailey lashed a triple into the right field corner that knocked in both runners.
One inning later, the Mocs strung together four consecutive one-out singles, starting with Karlyn Scott and Grimes. Brittany Martin then singled in one run, Clark did the same, and a ground out by Mathews scored Martin.
There was a brief reprieve for Wilmington in the fourth inning, but Grimes started the fifth with a blast over the right centerfield fence off new pitcher Danielle Griffin for her first home run of the season. Martin followed with her second hit of the game, a single into left, and after a double by Mathews, the Mocs scored their second run of the inning, and seventh of the game, on a wild pitch.
The Mocs ended the game one inning later. Brandy Pikus led off the bottom of the sixth with an infield single and took second when the ball was thrown away on the same play. Two batters later, Scott hit a bloop single into short left, forcing Pikus to hold at second. However, leftfielder Kristen Garvin over-ran the ball, allowing both runners to advance, and putting Moccasins at second and third. A single by Grimes then brought in Pikus for the final run.
The early scoring made for a light workload for Clark. She set the Wildcats down in order in the first three innings before Christin Headley singled leading off the fourth. Headley went no further though, and it was the only base runner against Clark in her five innings of work. She also had six strikeouts.
Liana Derringer finished off the shutout, though she had to work around two singles by Wilmington in the top of the sixth.
Chelsea Botsch took the loss, falling to 0-2. The Moccasins got to her for five runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings. Botsch walked one and did not have a strikeout.
In game two against Mary, the Moccasins were held to just one hit through the first four innings, but used it to score a run in the second that gave them a 1-0 lead. Their next hit in the fifth inning turned into a run too, before the Mocs got three straight 2-out hits in the sixth to produce another run.
Those three runs were enough for Clark, who went the distance against the Marauders (4-5) for her sixth win of the season against only one loss. The senior allowed only an unearned run on six hits while striking out one and again not walking a batter.
The Moccasins staked her to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Martin walked to lead off the inning and came around on a double by Mathews. The Mocs’ next hit didn’t come until the fifth when Hunn led off with a double and scored on a two-out error by the Marauders.
Mary pitcher Emily Sinclair got the first two outs in the top of the sixth but couldn’t get out of the inning without giving up another run. A single by Mathews gave the Mocs another chance to score, and pinch-runner Allasyn Lieneck did just that, stealing second and coming home on a single by Hunn. Bailey followed her with a double, but Sinclair left them on second and third, keeping her team in the game for one more chance in the seventh inning.
The Marauders managed to break up the shutout, using back-to-back singles by Melissa Gonzalez and Desiree Smith, and a throwing error to put runners at second and third with one out. A sacrifice fly by Samantha Antolin got the run in, but Clark was able to finish the game when she got Alexandra Medina to ground out back to the pitcher’s circle.
In improving to 6-1, Clark got two big defensive plays from Pikus in left and one from Martin at third. Pikus threw a runner out at the plate in the top of the third to keep the Marauders from scoring in that inning, even with three hits, and the senior also made a long running catch in short left with a runner at second in the top of the sixth. Martin took a hit away from Gonzalez in the fourth.
While Clark earned her second win of the day, Sinclair suffered the loss while giving up just two earned runs on seven hits, striking out five and walking three.
Florida Southern will be back in Clermont on Tuesday for a doubleheader with St. Anselm (NH) at 1:00 p.m.
