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LAKELAND â€" In a lengthy conference doubleheader, Florida Southern got its best all-around pitching performance of the season from Chelsea Oglevie, Lauren Wolfe and Kelliann Connors. Florida Tech got the same thing from its sister tag team of Amanda Smith and Taylor Smith. Ultimately, it was third baseman Taylor Peterson who won the day for the Panthers, with a 2-run single in the top of 12th in game one, and an RBI double in the sixth inning of game two that gave them 4-3 and 1-0 victories.
Peterson was the big hitter for Florida Tech (25-16, 12-6 SSC) with her pair of game-winning hits, but every pitcher who took the ball on Saturday did their job as well. Each of the Smith sisters earned a win, with Amanda (17-9) going 9.2 innings in game one, combining two different stints in the circle, and then combining with Taylor (8-5) for a 1-hit shutout in the nightcap. They nearly got a no-hitter, but Dayna Hunn broke it up on a single up the middle with one out in the bottom of the seventh. In their 19 total innings of work, the Smiths allowed only one earned run on 12 hits.
Florida Southern’s pitching was impressive too, with Oglevie (8-13) allowing just two hits in game two, but falling victim to an unearned run in the sixth inning. Earlier, Wolfe (4-8) had pitched seven innings in relief of Connors, and gave up just two runs (one earned) on three hits. Connors was making her first conference start for the Moccasins (12-24, 4-11), and the freshman from Waterford, Connecticut shut out the Panthers through the first four innings before giving up two runs in the fifth.
While Connors and Wolfe held the Panthers in check in game one, the Moccasins got three hits from Heather Brinkmeier, two hits and a hit-by-pitch from Cassie Haynes, and one hit, one RBI and two walks from Hunn. The Mocs left 17 runners on base, however, including nine in extra innings.
Through the first four innings, each team had six base runners, and it was only exceptional defense that kept the game scoreless into the fifth. Haynes made an over-the-head catch before crashing into the fence in left to end the first inning; third baseman Gianni Artidiello snagged a hard-hit line drive in the second and turned it into a double play after a leadoff double by Peterson; and shortstop Christie Bailey made a diving catch on the edge of the dirt near the foul line in the third inning to take a run-scoring hit away from Nicole Shinsky.
Artidiello later made two other huge plays in the sixth and ninth innings, taking a hit away on one and erasing the lead runner on a bunt on the other. The Mocs also got a 4-6-3 double play from Pemberton, Bailey and Brinkmeier to end the top of the eighth.
The Panthers got two big plays from centerfielder Amanda Bueno. Her running catch in left center on a liner hit by Jordan Alexander in the second inning saved one hit, and she later threw out Haynes at the plate on a single by Leah Pemberton in the bottom of the fourth.
Florida Tech took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth when Kelsey Donahue and Elaine Brown singled and came home on a double by Kara Dickinson, who was thrown out trying to stretch it into her second triple of the game. The Moccasins then turned to Wolfe in the top of the sixth, and the sophomore held the Panthers hitless over the next four innings as the Mocs came back to tie the game.
The Mocs got their first run in the bottom of the fifth when Artidiello singled and scored on a double by Hunn. They tied it in the sixth when Alexander singled, moved to third on a double by Brinkmeier and scored on a 2-out error by the Panthers.
Twice in extra innings, the Mocs thought they had the game won. With two out in the bottom of the ninth and the bases loaded, Alexander hit a ball between the legs of Montion at first. Donahue was backing her up though from second base, fielded it, and got the ball back to Montion for the out. In the 11th inning, the Mocs got a leadoff single from Haynes who was bunted into scoring position. Bailey ripped a pitch up the middle but it was caught by Amanda Smith in the pitcher’s circle for the second out. After Hunn walked, Pemberton hit a flare behind the bag at first that landed foul by less than an inch. Smith was able to get her on strikes to end the inning.
Florida Tech broke the 2-2 tie in the top of the 12th after Brown reached on a 1-out error, Dickinson walked, and Shinsky was hit by a pitch. Peterson then drilled a pitch into left field for a 2-run single. The Panthers needed both of those runs after committing three errors in the bottom of the 12th that gave one back to Florida Southern before Amanda Smith could end the game.
Amanda was in the circle to start game two as well and pitched four hitless innings before being relieved by her sister Taylor. They nearly got the no-hitter, but it was foiled by Hunn who bounced a single up the middle with one out in the bottom of the seventh for the Mocs’ first base runner since Haynes had reached on an error in the third. Taylor Smith got the final two outs though to complete the shutout, and give Florida Tech the series sweep with three 1-run victories, including two in extra innings. It was the seventh straight game between the two teams that was decided by a single run.
The only hits Florida Tech had off Oglevie were a single by Shinsky in the fourth, and Peterson’s double in the sixth. The double by Peterson scored Brown, who had reached on an error. Oglevie also walked two and struck out two in her 18th complete game of the season.
Florida Southern will play again Wednesday when it hosts Palm Beach Atlantic in a 4:00 p.m. doubleheader.
