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Box Score 2
LAKELAND â€" Gianni Artidiello put on a dazzling display of defense Saturday in game one of Florida Southern’s doubleheader with Lynn, and the junior third baseman did everything she could with her bat in game two. But while Artidiello starred all day for the Moccasins, Devin Kochergen turned the tide in favor of the Knights in the opener, and Jasmine Campos did the same in the nightcap, as Lynn won both, 3-1 and 6-2.
Artidiello easily took three hits away from the Knights (16-14, 2-4 Sunshine State Conference) in game one, backing a solid pitching performance by sophomore Lauren Wolfe (4-5), who scattered six hits, struck out three and walked one, but fell victim to a first-inning sacrifice fly by Kochergen, and a sixth-inning home run by the Lynn catcher.
The Moccasins (12-16, 4-5) had just four hits off Lynn pitcher Missy Montgomery (7-5), who retired 10 of the last 11 batters she faced after Florida Southern had tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth. Montgomery had no strikeouts and no walks.
In the second game, Campos went 3-for-3 with RBI singles in the second and fourth innings before scoring Lynn’s final run after a double in the sixth. Lynn also got a crushing 2-run single from Kaci Vassalo in the fifth inning, and pitcher Kasey Murray twice caught line drives and turned them into inning-ending double plays.
Moccasin junior pitcher Chelsea Oglevie was often an innocent victim of some softly hit singles that were barely out of the reach of her infielders, but they contributed to Lynn’s nine hits in the game.
Florida Southern had five hits, including two by Artidiello, who also had a sacrifice and one of the line drives grabbed by Murray. Freshman Leah Pemberton had an RBI single and two walks among her three trips to the plate as the Mocs put a total of 12 runners on base but could get only two of them home.
The Knights wasted no time in scoring Saturday, as they scored their first run in the first game in the top of the first inning. Danielle McNeill led things off with a single, stole second, took third on a ground out and came home on Kochergen’s sac fly. Wolfe was otherwise in control early on, retiring nine straight batters after McNeill’s single. One of those outs came courtesy of Artidiello, who somehow stopped a hard-hit grounder by McNeill to end the third inning and threw her out at first.
The Knights loaded the bases in the top of the fourth on an error, a base hit and a walk, but Wolfe and Artidiello were up to the task. Wolfe got Murray on a fly ball to shallow left, and Artidiello made her second spectacular play of the game when she caught a line drive hit by Christina Carvatta, a ball that was nearly by her and would have scored at least one run.
Leading off the bottom of the fourth, Artidiello hit a grounder down to first that Murray couldn’t handle and ended up at second base on the play. After Dayna Hunn moved her to third with a ground out, Pemberton got her home with a fly ball to left. Heather Brinkmeier and Allasyn Lieneck followed with singles, but the Mocs left them both in scoring position.
Lynn would take the lead on Kochergan’s solo home run in the top of the sixth inning, and added an insurance run in the seventh after two infield hits, and an RBI single by McNeill.
In the second game, two Florida Southern errors helped Lynn score two runs in the top of the second inning to take a 2-0 lead. Campos drove in the first one with a single to right, and the second scored on one of the errors.
The Moccasins tied the score with a run in the second and a run in the third, with hits by Lieneck and Artidiello leading to those runs. The second-inning run scored on a run-down play between first and second base, and Pemberton plated the run in the third with an RBI single.
Lynn broke the 2-2 tie in the top of the fourth inning with another unearned run, as Campos got the run in with an infield single. In the fifth, Lynn turned a hit batter and a walk into two more runs, as Vassalo’s ground ball sneaked between Brinkmeier and Pemberton for a 2-run single. Campos then doubled and scored on a single by McNeill that barely got over Pemberton running toward short center in the sixth inning.
Considering the nature of some of the hits, Oglevie’s final pitching line was unjust. She gave up six runs (three earned) on eight hits, struck out one and walked one while falling to 8-8.
Murray improved to 9-9 with the win, working around five hits and seven walks. She struck out three batters and also turned line drives hit by Kelliann Connors in the fifth, and Artidiello in the seventh into double plays. She also saw Carvatta throw out a runner at the plate from left field in the third inning.
Florida Southern will play a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m., at Palm Beach Atlantic.
