Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
PALM BEACH GARDENS â€" Florida Southern jumped on Palm Beach Atlantic for two runs in the top of the first inning of game one Wednesday, but the Sailfish chipped away behind a strong pitching performance by Mary Pippin for a 4-2 come-from behind win. In game two, the top three hitters in the PBA batting order went 6-for-8 with six RBI over the first three innings to propel the Sailfish to an 8-1 victory.
An extended first inning saw both teams score after loading the bases, with Florida Southern sending eight batters to the plate in the top half, and Palm Beach Atlantic sending seven to bat in the bottom. The Moccasins got a 2-run single from freshman Jordan Alexander (Valrico, FL) for their runs, and the Sailfish used four walks to score theirs, with Camille Benito drawing the final one to force in the run.
The Sailfish tied the score in the bottom of the third when Jen Hunter walked and came home on a double by Theresa Butler, and they took the lead one inning later with two in the bottom of the fourth. That inning was sparked by Miranda Welch’s pinch-hit single that turned over the lineup, and leadoff hitter Brittany Jones gave the Sailfish a 3-2 lead with a triple into the right centerfield gap. Chelsie Hersey followed with a base hit to left, making it a 4-2 game.
While Palm Beach Atlantic was able to score additional runs, Florida Southern finished with only its two in the first inning. Pippin had four straight 1-2-3 innings from the third through the sixth, and retired 17 of the final 18 Moccasin batters of the game. Junior Khaliah Brown’s 2-out single in the top of the seventh was the Mocs’ only base runner during that stretch.
Pippin gave up a total of four hits, with three of them coming in the first inning. She also walked two and struck out six to improve her record to 3-2 on the season. The result might have been different, but before Pippin settled down, she got two big plays from her defense. Hersey made a diving catch down the leftfield line against junior Christie Bailey (Jacksonville, FL) in the first inning after junior Gianni Artidiello (Miami, FL) had started the game with a single, and Hunter made a back-handed stop at short on a grounder hit by Brown in the second, barely throwing her out at first.
Junior Chelsea Oglevie (Tampa, FL) fell to 8-9 with the loss, going 5.0 innings, giving up four runs on five hits, with five walks and four strikeouts. Sophomore Lauren Wolfe (Lithia, FL) pitched the final inning, striking out all three batters she faced.
In the second game, Palm Beach struck for two runs in the bottom of the first and added six more in the bottom of the third to take an 8-1 lead. The Sailfish took advantage of a Florida Southern error in each of those innings to make seven of those runs unearned, and all six of the third-inning runs came with two out.
Brittany Jones, Chelsie Hersey and Lindsey Johnson, the top three hitters in the PBA batting order, had hits in both innings, with Johnson driving in Jones for the first run of the game with a first-inning double. Jones then had a 3-run triple in the third that put PBA ahead 6-1, Hersey followed with an RBI single that made it 7-1, and Johnson delivered her second RBI double of the game to make it 8-1.
The Moccasins scored their only run in the top of the second when freshman Leah Pemberton (Valrico, FL) drew a leadoff walk and moved to third on a ground out by freshman Kelliann Connors (Waterford, CT) and base hit by Alexander. When junior Heather Brinkmeier (Port St. Joe, FL) lofted a pop-up into foul territory, Hunter made a diving catch for the Sailfish, coming all the way from her shortstop position, but Pemberton tagged on the play and came home for the run.
That was the only run against Amber Johnson, who went the distance for PBA to improve to 9-7. The freshman allowed six hits, which included two apiece by Artidiello and Alexander. Johnson walked three and struck out two.
Wolfe started for the Moccasins, and though she gave up only one earned run, fell to 4-6. Connors came on in the bottom of the third and pitched 3.1 innings of scoreless relief, and two of the three hits she allowed were infield singles. PBA had 13 hits overall, with Mackenzie Johnson picking up three, and Jones, Hersey and Lindsey Johnson all collecting two.
Florida Southern will be off this weekend before opening a 3-game Sunshine State Conference series at the University of Tampa on Thursday, March 28 at 6:00 p.m.
