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ST. AUGUSTINE â€" Freshman Brandi Jones pitched six shutout innings Tuesday night, and when she needed a little help at the end, senior Chelsea Oglevie stepped in and gave it to her. So did shortstop Jessica Lanci in more ways than one. With Lanci delivering three hits and a heads-up, game-ending double play on defense, Florida Southern held on for a 6-3 win over Flagler, after Flagler won the first game of the doubleheader, 3-2.
Making her fourth start of the season, Jones took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before giving up a 2-out single to Molly Whittington. She gave up two more singles to start the sixth inning, but worked around those to take a 6-0 lead into the seventh. At that point, the freshman from Snellville, Georgia ran out of gas, giving up four straight hits to start the seventh inning, with one of those an RBI single by Lauren Bessent. That drew the Saints (9-7) within 6-1 and brought Oglevie into the game with still no one out and the bases still loaded.
Oglevie got pinch-hitter Cristin Caravano to fly out to right, and even though it scored a run, the Moccasins (2-4) had the first out of the inning. Christen Moon then singled into left for another run, and Mackenzie Conley battled Oglevie for a walk that re-loaded the bases for Maddy Murphy. With momentum having shifted in the Saints’ favor, Lanci snatched it back with her glove.
With her team down 6-3, and a chance to possibly tie the game or even win it, Murphy ripped a line drive that looked like it might carry over the head of Lanci at short. Instead, the junior from Orlando leaped in the air, nearly caught it, and when she couldn’t hold the ball, kept her composure and fired it over to senior third baseman Heather Brinkmeier (Port St. Joe, Fla.) for a force out. Brinkmeier then got the ball to junior catcher Kim Booker (Bartow, Fla.) who tagged Bessent coming down the line from third. It gave the Mocs a game-ending 6-5-2 double play, and made a winner of Jones, who evened her record at 2-2, while Oglevie earned the save.
At the plate, the Moccasins reached double-digit hits for the first time this season and also scored a season-high six runs. Lanci had three of their 12 hits, including a pair of doubles, and junior first baseman Priscilla Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.) also had three hits. Seniors Allasyn Lieneck (Oldsmar, Fla.) and Heather Brinkmeier (Port St. Joe, Fla.) each had two hits; Booker went 1-for-2, added a sacrifice fly and a hit-by-pitch to go along with two RBI; and junior Kylee Stearns (Lakeland, Fla.) walked twice.
The Moccasins jumped on Flagler starting pitcher Katelyn Smith for two runs in the top of the first inning when three of their first four batters had hits. Lieneck had the first one with a leadoff bunt single and after stealing second, she came home on a one-out single by Lanci. Then it was Lanci’s turn to steal second, and following a base hit by Gonzalez that moved her to third, Lanci scored the second run of the inning on Booker’s sacrifice fly.
A double steal between Stearns and Lieneck produced another run in the top of the second, and the Moccasins doubled their lead with a 3-run fifth that featured five more hits. Lanci, Gonzalez, and Booker had three in a row to knock Katelyn Smith out of the game, with Booker’s single plating Lanci for a 4-0 lead. Relief pitcher Tinsley Smith then walked junior Dayna Hunn (Morrison, Fla.) to re-load the bases, which set up back-to-back RBI singles by sophomore Jordan Alexander (Valrico, Fla.) and Brinkmeier.
In game one, Florida Southern senior pitcher Chelsea Oglevie (Tampa, Fla.) held Flagler without a hit through the first three innings before Christen Moon and Mackenzie Conley hit back-to-back doubles with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Moon had to hold up between second and third to make sure Conley’s ball wouldn’t be caught, but she ended up scoring on a fly ball by Maddy Murphy.
The Moccasins weren’t down long. With two out in the top of the fifth, Stearns beat out an infield single to give the Mocs life, and Lieneck followed with a single into right center. That brought senior Christie Bailey (Jacksonville, Fla.) to the plate, who launched a double to deep right that scored both Stearns and Lieneck for a 2-1 Florida Southern lead.
The Mocs nearly added to their total one inning later after Lanci led off with a double, and Booker drove another pitch into the left centerfield gap. Flagler centerfielder Melanie Oliver came across though and made the catch as she went to the ground, keeping it a 2-1 game. It proved to be a crucial play.
In the bottom of the inning, the Saints put their first two hitters on base when Laurent Bessent walked and Lauren Roudabush reached on an infield single. Oglevie got the next two Flagler batters, with Bessent moving to third on one of those outs, but pinch-runner Jordan Smith, who was running for Roudabush, caused problems when she broke for second with Murphy at the plate. With the middle infielders just out of position on the play, Booker’s throw ended up in center, which allowed Bessent to score the tying run. Murphy followed with a double to put Flagler on top 3-2.
The Moccasins threatened in the top of the seventh with a single by Brinkmeier and an error by Flagler that gave them another base runner. Relief pitcher Tinsley Smith, who had started the inning for Kalyn Loverich, got out of trouble though with a pop-up and a fly ball to end the game.
Loverich got the win to improve to 5-3, giving up two runs on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks in 6.0 innings. Smith earned her second save with the scoreless seventh, working around the hit and error.
Oglevie fell to 0-2, though she gave up only four hits. She walked two and had no strikeouts in the complete game effort.
Florida Southern returns home for a doubleheader on Friday when it hosts Canadian National Champion Western Ontario at 5 p.m.
