Box Score
LAKELAND â€" Twice in extra innings Friday night, Florida Southern fell behind Eckerd College only to come back, tie the game, and keep on going. Freshman Hannah Loyer was there for all of it too, in more ways than one. In the bottom of the 15th inning though, it was junior catcher Kim Booker who delivered the game-winning hit, giving the Moccasins a 5-4 victory in their second marathon game of the season.
Booker’s 2-out RBI single in the 15th plated sophomore Jordan Alexander (Valrico, Fla.), who had reached on an error to start the inning, and was bunted into scoring position by senior Christie Bailey (Jacksonville, Fla.). Bailey had already picked up three hits in the game and was intentionally walked in the bottom of the seventh with runners in scoring position. After Eckerd pitcher Amber Hay got a strikeout for the second out of the 15th inning, another intentional walk was issued, this one to junior Priscilla Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.). Booker followed with a single into right center, and Alexander went streaking around the bases to beat the throw home.
The hit by Booker, which came at 11:10 p.m., ended the longest night game the Moccasins (23-19, 9-13 Sunshine State Conference) have ever played at Barnett Field, and Eckerd's 11th extra-inning game this season. It took four hours and 10 minutes to complete, and was the second lengthy win the Mocs have had this year. On March 30 in Melbourne, they defeated Florida Tech 4-2 in 14 innings, which at the time was the longest game the Mocs had ever won.
Loyer (Bradenton, Fla.) was the winning pitcher in that one too, and got Friday night’s win over Eckerd (26-24, 9-12) by retiring the only two batters she faced in relief of freshman Brandi Jones (Snellville, Ga.), who pitched 10.1 innings of relief herself. Jones had come on in the fifth inning for senior Chelsea Oglevie (Tampa, Fla.) with the game tied at one, but ran out of gas in the top of the 15th. She left after a single by Kara Oberer and walk by Kaycie Duncan put Tritons on first and second with one out. Loyer, who is now 3-1, kept the game tied by getting Sydney Dinelli and Erin Dixson, allowing Booker to come through in the bottom of the 15th.
Of course Loyer was a big reason the game even went that far to begin with. She was initially inserted as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning, but it was her second at-bat that brought the crowd to its feet. It came in the bottom of the eighth after a 2-run double by Dixson had given Eckerd a 3-1 lead in the top half of the inning. The Mocs got a leadoff walk from Booker to start their half, and senior Allasyn Lieneck (Oldsmar, Fla.) followed with an infield single. Though the Mocs lost a runner on a base-running play, Loyer came through with a 2-run homer that tied the score at three. It was only the seventh at-bat of the season for the freshman, and just her second hit.
In the top of the 10th, Eckerd scored again on an RBI double by Duncan, but again Florida Southern tied the score in the bottom of the frame. Lieneck was on base again with a leadoff single, and Loyer walked right behind her. A fly ball by senior Heather Brinkmeier was deep enough to move Lieneck to third, and she scored when freshman pinch-hitter Taylor Manning (Naples, Fla.) reached on a fielding error.
The Moccasins then had hits in each of the next four innings, two by Gonzalez and two by Brinkmeier, but were unable to get any of them home. Meanwhile, Jones retired the Tritons in order in the 11th, 12th, and 14th innings, and worked around another double by Duncan and a walk in the 13th.
Florida Southern scored the first run of the game in the third inning with three infield hits, one of them by junior Kylee Stearns (Lakeland, Fla.) that came leading off. Sophomore Leah Pemberton (Valrico, Fla.) drove her in when her bunt down the first base line spun back towards the plate, leaving the Tritons no real chance to get Stearns coming down the line from third.
Eckerd immediately tied it in the top of the fourth when Hay singled and came home on a double by Oberer.
Hay ended up taking the loss for Eckerd, though she gave up only one earned run in 12.0 innings. She struck out nine and walked four while giving up three total runs on 14 hits. Hay pitched the first 6.1 innings before Dixson got two outs in the seventh and pitched the eighth and ninth. Hay re-entered at that point to finish the game and ended up throwing 206 pitches.
Jones allowed three runs on nine hits for Florida Southern, with seven strikeouts and five walks in 10.1 innings. Oglevie gave up just one run on three hits in 4.0 innings, with one walk and one strikeout.
Bailey, Pemberton and Lieneck all had three of Florida Southern’s 17 hits, and Gonzalez had two hits and a pair of intentional walks. Brinkmeier had two hits and one walk, and Stearns also had two hits.
All three Florida Southern outfielders stood out on defense too. Lieneck threw Chelsea Jeffares out at the plate on a fly ball in the first inning after Jeffares had started the game with a triple. Brinkmeier threw a runner out at third in extra innings and made three impressive catches too, one of them taking a run-scoring hit away from Dinelli in the fourth. Stearns also came through with a pair of long running catches in left center.
Florida Southern and Eckerd will wrap up the season on Saturday with a doubleheader that begins at 1 p.m.
