Second-Inning Scoring by Bucs Gives Barry Sweep of Florida Southern

MIAMI SHORES â€" Britney Pugh was part of a 5-run second inning for Barry with her bat, and when Florida Southern fought back and the game was at a turning point, she bailed the Buccaneers out as a pitcher. The junior transfer led Barry to a 5-3 win in game one Saturday, before Alexis Yohe tossed a 3-hit shutout in game two to give the Bucs a 3-0 win in game two.

Pugh started the game as the designated player, and had an RBI single to drive in Barry’s final run of the only inning in which they scored. After Florida Southern (9-14, 3-3 SSC) had trimmed the deficit to 5-3, and had the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Pugh moved into the pitcher’s circle, left all three runners on base, and went on to pitch 3.1 scoreless innings of relief for the win.

It was Florida Southern that scored first in the opener, getting a single from freshman Leah Pemberton (Valrico, FL) in the top of the second inning, and an RBI triple by junior Christie Bailey (Jacksonville, FL).

Barry, however, responded with five in the bottom of the inning, all of them coming after sophomore Lauren Wolfe (Lithia, FL) retired the first two batters. The Bucs loaded the bases on a hit batter and two walks before Megan Copeland singled sharply into left center to give them a 2-1 lead. Sarah Broeseker then reached on an error, with another run crossing the plate, and the Bucs added two more runs on back-to-back infield singles by Julie Brito and Pugh.

Despite three hard-hit balls in the third, including one by freshman Jordan Alexander (Valrico, FL) that was caught by reflex by pitcher Camille Czarnecki, the Moccasins didn’t score again until the fourth. They too did so after loading the bases against Czarnecki on a single by sophomore Dayna Hunn (Morriston, FL) and walks by junior Heather Brinkmeier (Port St. Joe, FL) and Bailey. Czarnecki also walked freshman Kelliann Connors (Waterford, CT) and junior Khaliah Brown (Groveport, OH) to force in two runs and force Barry coach Danielle Penner to go to the bullpen.

Pugh was the pitcher of choice and got the final out of the fourth inning when shortstop Natalia Ojeda caught a dangerous pop fly hit by Alexander down the line in left. She got more help from her defense in the fifth inning when second baseman Kelly Martinez made a leaping catch of a line drive by junior Gianni Artidiello (Miami, FL), and catcher Kayla Monroy threw out Hunn attempting to steal after a base hit.

Broeseker also showed her defensive skills in the final two innings by turning yet another line drive hit by junior Allasyn Lieneck (Oldsmar, FL) into a double play in the sixth, and smoothly taking a hit away from Alexander in the seventh.

Florida Southern also had its moments in the field. Brown made two big plays in left, one of them a running catch of a line drive hit by Pugh with two on and two out in the first inning. It was the same inning during which Lieneck threw out a runner at the plate attempting to score on a single by Broeseker. Later, in the fourth inning, Artidiello made a spinning stop on a ground ball hit by Ojeda, throwing her out at first.

Wolfe fell to 3-4 with the loss, though she gave up only two earned runs in a complete game effort. The Buccaneers had eight hits off her, four of them infield singles, and Wolfe also walked four and struck out four. Copeland had three of the eight hits against Wolfe and also walked once, and Broeseker had two hits and reached twice on errors.

After Czarnecki gave up three runs on three hits and four walks, Pugh allowed just two hits in her 3.1 innings of work, struck out one and walked two. It gave her a 2-2 record on the season. Hunn had two of Florida Southern’s five hits in the game, while Bailey had one hit and walked twice.

The second game of Saturday’s doubleheader saw Barry again do all of its scoring in the second inning, with two of its three runs scoring on a home run by Ashley Fernandez.

That second inning also saw Barry (15-9, 4-2) pick up five of its nine hits in the game, with a Pugh single starting it. Alexis Kent doubled her in two batters later, and two batters after that, Fernandez went deep over the leftfield fence. The Bucs then got a double from Ojeda and an infield single from Copeland, but FSC pitcher Chelsea Oglevie (Tampa, FL) escaped further damage by catching a low line drive by Broeseker.

Oglevie also worked around a leadoff double by Brito in the third inning, and singles by Monroy and Copeland (who was 9-for-10 in the 3-game series) in the fourth before she retired the final seven Buccaneers in order. She gave up a total of nine hits but no walks, and struck out three while seeing her record fall to 6-7.

Artidiello had two of Florida Southern’s three hits off Yohe with a single in the first inning and a double in the sixth. She also walked once. The Mocs had two base runners in the fifth when Lieneck singled and Bailey walked, and got them both into scoring position with a bunt by Connors, but Yohe ended the inning with a ground ball to third. While giving up three hits and two walks, and striking out two, she upped her record to 7-4 with her second win of the 3-game series.

Florida Southern will play again Tuesday afternoon in Lake Wales with a 2:00 p.m. doubleheader against Warner.