Box Score
LAKELAND â€" Brad Carlton carried the Florida Southern offense early, Conor Szczerba picked it up a little bit later, and strong relief pitching by juniors Clay Chapman and Nate Carter gave the Moccasins a chance to win in extra innings. With Carlton and Szczerba both hitting home runs, and Szczerba also driving in the winning run, Florida Southern pulled out a 6-5, 11-inning win over 16th-ranked Florida Tech in a non-conference game Tuesday night.
The win was Florida Southern’s 12th straight at home, giving the Moccasins a 12-1 mark at Henley Field this year. They improved to 12-11 overall when Szczerba singled up the middle with two out in the bottom of the 11th, driving in redshirt junior J.J. Downum (Land O'Lakes, FL) from second with the winning run. It gave the junior second baseman from Titusville two hits and three RBI in the game, in addition to one walk.
Carlton, meanwhile, had a home run and a double in his first two at-bats, and scored Florida Southern’s first two runs after Florida Tech (19-8) had taken an early 2-0 lead. The senior catcher from Arcadia also gunned down two runners attempting to steal, and his double ignited a 3-run fifth inning that saw the Moccasins take the lead for the first time in the game.
Florida Tech’s Andrew Bartlett later hit a 2-run homer in the top of the eighth, which tied the game 5-5, but the Moccasins got two scoreless innings from Chapman (Orlando, FL), who struck out five of the six batters he faced, one scoreless inning from Carter (Boca Raton, FL), who struck out two and got his first win of the season (1-0).
The Moccasins also received three hits from senior shortstop Kyle Gibbs (Sarasota, FL), while sophomore Keith Curcio (Sarasota, FL) and redshirt freshman Dominic Brugnoni (St. Clair Shores, MI) each had two hits and one RBI. Junior starting pitcher Steven Burnham (Valrico, FL) was solid as well, giving up three runs on eight hits, with five strikeouts and one walk in 7.0 innings.
Florida Tech scored runs in the first and second innings to take a 2-0 lead. The Panthers started the game with back-to-back singles by Ray Maggi and David Johannesen, with Maggi stealing second and coming home on Johannesen’s hit. The Panthers then turned an infield single by Bartlett leading off the second inning into another run, with Tony Becerra driving him in with a 1-out single.
Burnham then took control of the game by retiring seven of the next eight batters, and got a sharp double play from senior first baseman Kyle Jackson (Avon Park, FL) to end the fourth. He also worked out of trouble in the fifth when the Panthers got a bloop single from Becerra and a bunt single by Dan Bodziak to start the inning. After they were bunted into scoring position, Burnham fielded a ground ball back to the mound and was able to throw out Becerra attempting to score on the play.
The Mocs had already gotten a solo home run from Carlton in the second inning, and he started the bottom of the fifth with a double. Downum bunted him to third, and a ground out by Szczerba got him home, with only a strong play by Becerra at third keeping it from being a hit. Consecutive 2-out doubles by Gibbs and Curcio followed, giving the Mocs a 3-2 lead, and Brugnoni singled in Curcio to make it 4-2.
Both teams scored in the seventh, with Szczerba going deep in the bottom of the inning to maintain Florida Southern’s 2-run lead. However, Bartlett tied it in the top of the eighth with his 2-run shot.
The Mocs threatened in the bottom of the ninth when Szczerba walked and Gibbs singled with two out, but they didn’t score again until the 11th. Downum gave them that opportunity with a 2-out walk and theft of second. Szczerba then hit the ball hard up the middle, and Bartlett made a diving attempt from his second base position to stop it, but it caromed off his glove and made it to the outfield anyway, allowing Downum to score without a play.
Florida Southern will play again Wednesday night in St. Augustine, with a 6:00 p.m. start against Flagler College.
