Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 ST. AUGUSTINE – Brandi Jones' sixth straight win to start the season had a couple of tense moments late in the game, but Florida Southern's sophomore pitcher got the job done again, allowing a 2-run single by junior Maggie Roberts in the first inning to hold up for a 2-1 victory over Georgia Southwestern. In the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, the Moccasins used a 4-hit game by senior Kim Booker and a total of 14 hits overall to come back from a 4-run deficit for an 8-5 win over the Hurricanes.
In Saturday's opener, Florida Southern (9-2) put its first four hitters on base against Georgia Southwestern pitcher Haley Goodson. Junior Jordan Alexander (Valrico, Fla.) started the game with a leadoff walk and senior Gianni Artidiello (Miami, Fla.) singled her to second. A walk to senior Jessica Lanci (Orlando, Fla.) loaded the bases and Roberts (Lakeland, Fla.) made it 2-0 by driving a pitch through the right side of the infield for a single.
Goodson settled down after that, retiring nine straight Moccasins before senior Priscilla Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.) singled to start the fourth inning. Gonzalez also had their next hit by leading off the top of the sixth with her second single of the game, and the Mocs looked like they were in good shape when junior Leah Pemberton (Valrico, Fla.) doubled and freshman Ashlyn Worcester (Bloomingdale, Ill.) walked to load the bases with none out. Goodson got out of it though with back-to-back force outs at the plate and a strikeout.
The Hurricanes (3-3) finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth against Jones when pinch-hitter Kendyl Carver walked and scored on a double by Rachel McElroy. They threatened again in the bottom of the seventh with singles by Allee Denney and Haley Warner, but Jones slammed the door with back-to-back strikeouts.
Now 6-0 on the season, Jones gave up only four hits, struck out 12 and walked two. The sophomore from Snellville, Georgia is the first Moccasin pitcher to win her first six starts in a season since Megan Brown and Stacey Bronson each won their first eight in 2006. It was Jones' fifth straight start allowing five hits or less.
Goodson fell to 1-2, allowing only the two first-inning runs on a total of five hits. She struck out two and walked four.
Game two did not start well for the Moccasins as the Hurricanes used two singles and a walk to load the bases in the top of the first inning, setting up a grand slam by Keri Thompkins. It was Thompkins' fifth home run in the first six games of the season. But FSC sophomore starting pitcher Hannah Loyer (Bradenton, Fla.) survived the early blast by the Hurricane third baseman and gave up just one more run and one more hit over the next four innings as the Moccasins chipped away at the deficit. Jones then came in to pitch the final two innings to preserve the win.
Leading the comeback for Florida Southern was Booker (Bartow, Fla.), the Mocs' senior catcher who went 4-for-4 with an RBI single in the bottom of the third that got the Mocs within one, and an RBI single in the fourth that gave them the lead. They also got two hits and one RBI apiece from Artidiello and Pemberton, and two hits from Gonzalez and senior Kylee Stearns (Lakeland, Fla.).
The Moccasins started scoring in the bottom of the second inning, loading the bases on a walk by Worcester and singles by Booker and Stearns. The first run scored on an error before and RBI single by Artidiello and a sacrifice fly by Lanci made the score 4-3.
After Georgia Southwestern scored one in the top of the third to make it 5-3, the Mocs put together four hits in the bottom half of the inning and again pulled within one when Booker singled in Gonzalez.
One inning later, after a 2-out single by Gonzalez got them going, the Mocs were able to take lead. A double by Pemberton into the left centerfield gap tied the score at five, and Booker put them ahead with her second RBI single of the night.
The Mocs tacked on two more in the bottom of the sixth, with one run scoring when Alexander reached on a 2-out error by the Hurricanes, and Gonzalez later forcing Alexander in with a bases-loaded walk.
Loyer, now 2-0, left the game for Florida Southern after the fifth inning, having held the Hurricanes in check long enough to get the win. Jones worked around two hits by Georgia Southwestern in the top of the seventh for the save.
Florida Southern will be on the road again this Wednesday when it travels to Daytona Beach for a doubleheader against Embry-Riddle at 4 p.m.
