Mocs Drop Both Ends of Doubleheader at Saint Leo

SAINT LEO - Florida Southern closed out the road portion of its 2013 schedule here Saturday afternoon by dropping both ends of a Sunshine State Conference doubleheader to Saint Leo at Southard Stadium.

The Moccasins dropped the opener 19-1 (Box Score) and then proceeded to lose the nightcap 14-4 (Box Score) to fall to 16-26 overall on the season and 8-13 in the SSC. SLU improved to 35-14-1 overall and 14-9-1 in the league.

Despite the two losses, sophomore third baseman Keith Curcio (Sarasota, Fla.) had a strong doubleheader at the plate as he went a combined 5-for-8 in the two games, including going 3-for-5 in the first game. Those five hits increased his season total to a team-best 55 on the season.

After winning the first game, 19-1, SLU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a 2-run home run to straight-away center by Michael Revell off of junior starter Brian Johnson (Oldsmar, Fla.).

The Lions lead grew to 3-0 in the fourth inning on a 2-out RBI triple down the left field line by Chris Newcomb that plated Taylor Perez, who had reached on a 2-out single to center.

Curcio broke up Charles Neely's perfect game with a lead-off bunt single in the fourth inning and moved to second on his 27th stolen base of the year. The Mocs would put its next runner on base as Neely walked senior leftfielder Austin Jackson (Deltona, Fla.). After senior designated hitter Colin Kish (Philadelphia, Pa.) struck out for the first out, senior first baseman Kyle Jackson (Avon Park, Fla.) delievered a 2-run single to left center that broke up Neely's shutout and pulled the Mocs within a run at 3-2.

SLU added some insurance runs in the fifth inning as they sent 13 batters to the plate, recorded eight hits and scored nine runs, including three controversal runs on a 3-run home run by Perez that appeared to be foul, but was ruled fair. Following the homer, the Lions would add four more runs in the inning to take a 12-2 lead. 

The Lions scored two more times in the sixth inning off of junior reliever Nate Carter (Boca Raton, Fla.) to push its lead to 14-2.

FSC would complete the game's scoring in the seventh inning as they plated two runs on two hits to drop SLU's lead to 14-4. In the inning, Jackson draw a one-out walk from Lions reliever Adam Albers and advanced to third on a pinch hit double by redshirt freshman Arturo Tabales (Orlando, Fla.). The double by Tabales was his first career hit as a Moc. Jackson would score FSC's third run of the game on an RBI groundout by junior centerfielder J.J. Downum (Land O'Lakes, Fla.) and Tabales would score one batter later on an RBI single to left by junior second baseman Conor Szczerba (Titusville, Fla.).  

In the nightcap, the Mocs recorded seven hits as Curcio had two of the hits, while Szczerba, Jackson, Tabales and Downum had the other hits in the loss.

Johnson (3-6) took the loss on the mound for the Mocs as he pitched four-plus innings and allowed 11 hits and seven runs, while walking one and fanning two.

The Lions picked up 17 hits in the nightcap as Revell was 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and 5 RBIs, while Perez also added four hits for SLU in its regular season finale.

In Saturday's first game, the Mocs opened the game with three consecutive singles, including scoring a run on an RBI single by redshirt freshman rightfielder Dominic Brugnoni (St. Clair Shores, Fla.) to push in front 1-0. In the inning, Curcio led off with a single and moved to third on a single by senior shortstop Kyle Gibbs (Sarasota, Fla.).

SLU took the lead in the bottom of the second inning thanks to four hits, including back-to-back RBI doubles by Newcomb and Revell off of junior Alex Norris (Clearwater, Fla.) to take a 4-1 lead. The other two runs came in on a 2-run, two-out single to right by Frank Rawdow.

The Mocs had a scoring chance in the third inning as Szczerba reached on a two-out single to center and moved to second when Kish was hit by a Rick Teasley pitch. Teasley, though, prevented any damage by striking out Kyle Jackson on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning.

The Lions extended its lead to 7-1 in the bottom of the third inning as they scored three runs on two hits, including a two-run single by Daniel Torres off of junior Steven Burnham (Valrico, Fla.), who replaced Norris earlier in the inning after he walked Dillon Vitale to put two runners on base with one out.

FSC put runners on first and third base with two outs thanks to a walk and a single to left by Curcio, but Teasley got out of the jam once again by forcing Gibbs to ground out to third base to end the threat and keep the score at 7-1 in favor of the Lions.

SLU pushed its lead to 9-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning on a two-run homer by Stancil off of Burnham and added another run later in the frame on an RBI single by Taed Moses. Stancil's home run was his third in the series as he hit two in Friday's series opener.

The Lions lead grew to 13-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning as the wind helped take a ball off the bat of Perez over the left field fence for a 3-run home run and later in the inning the Lions lead grew to 14-1 on another wind aided homer over the left field fence by Bobby Twitty off of sophomore reliever Austin Barnett (Lakeland, Fla.). Barnett, who was the third Moc pitcher of the game, relieved Burnham at the start of the fifth inning.

SLU added three more runs in the sixth inning to push its lead to 17-1 and then added single runs in the seventh and eighth inning to complete the game's scoring. The Lions final five runs came off of senior reliever Matt Fuglesang (Land O'Lakes, Fla.). Fuglesang was the fourth Moc pitcher of the game.

The Mocs finished with seven hits in the game as Curcio went 3-for-5 at the plate, while Gibbs, Brugnoni, Kish and Szczerba each had a hit in the loss.

SLU finished with 21 hits as Rawdow had four hits and 3 RBIs, while Moses and Revell each had three hits. Revell scored three times, along with Newcomb and Twitty. 

Teasley (5-4) earned the win on the mound for SLU as he pitched 7.1 innings and allowed six hits and one run, while walking four and striking out four.

Norris (2-5) was the loser for the Mocs as he pitched 2.1 innings and allowed four hits and six runs, while walking two and fanning two.

The Mocs will conclude the 2013 season next Thursday and Friday as they host Rollins in a three-game set at historic Henley Field in Lakeland. The teams will open the series with a single game on Thursday, May 9 at 3 p.m., before playing a doubleheader on Friday, May 10 at 1 p.m.

Prior to the beginning of Thursday's game, the Mocs will honor its eight-member senior class in a pregame ceremony. This year's seniors are catcher Brad Carlton (Arcadia, Fla.), pitcher Mike Czenszak (Dowingtown, Pa.), Fuglesang, Gibbs, Austin Jackson, Kyle Jackson, Kish and pitcher Jack Sterritt (Ponte Vedra, Fla.).