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Box Score 2 LAKELAND – A game-one pitcher's duel changed dramatically in the late innings when Florida Southern's Ashlyn Worcester and Montevallo's Lexi Wilson helped their teams pile on the runs, before Taylor Bowen turned what looked to be a game-two slugfest into her own strong pitching performance. At the end of the night, each team had a win, with the Falcons taking the opener 6-4, and the Moccasins winning the nightcap 5-2.
Game one was scoreless through four innings with a total of only three base runners before the teams combined for 10 runs on 14 hits over the final three innings. Sparked by a fifth-inning single and a seventh-inning double from Worcester that helped them score each time, the Moccasins (10-3) put themselves in position to win, but Wilson had an RBI single in the fifth and a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh that propelled the Falcons (9-7) to the 6-4 win.
In game two, the Falcons scored twice in the top of the first against Bowen before the Moccasins got a 2-run triple from Kylee Stearns in the second inning and a solo home run from Leah Pemberton in the third that gave them a 3-2 lead. That was enough for Bowen, who settled down after giving up three hits and three walks in her first 1.1 innings to completely shut out the Falcons the rest of the way. The Falcons had only four more base runners over the final 5.2 innings as the junior college transfer took control.
Florida Southern pitcher Brandi Jones and Montevallo pitcher Jostlyn Higgerson traded zeroes for four innings at the start of Saturday night's doubleheader. The only hit against Jones during that time was a double by Wilson in the third, while Higgerson set down the first nine Moccasins before Gianni Artidiello and Jordan Alexander started the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back singles. The Mocs were unable to score though when Higgerson got a ground ball double play to end the fourth.
The Falcons broke the deadlock in the top of the fifth when Dylan Bailey doubled and came home on a 2-out single by Wilson, one of three hits in the game for Montevallo's first baseman. The Moccasins responded with three in the bottom of the fifth after Pemberton and Worcester singled, and Kim Booker doubled. The 2-base hit by Booker drove in Pemberton with the game-tying run, a ground out by Stearns brought in Worcester, and Booker eventually scored on a wild pitch to give FSC a 3-1 lead.
The Falcons quickly tied it in the top of the sixth on an RBI triple by Celestia Davila that ended the night for Jones, and a sacrifice fly by Phoebe Dabbour. They would then snap the 3-3 tie with three more runs in the top of the seventh, with doubles by Wilson and Kelsey Vining knocking in the first two, and the third scoring on an error.
Worcester struck again for Florida Southern in the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff double, and after Higgerson got two outs, the Mocs got back-to-back singles by Artidiello and Alexander to produce another run. Higgerson was able to leave those two on base, however, holding on for the 6-4 win that improved her record to 6-3.
Hannah Loyer took the loss in relief for Florida Southern, falling to 2-1. Jones and Loyer each gave up three runs, with Montevallo picking up a total of nine hits against them. Jones had all six of the strikeouts for Florida Southern pitching.
Montevallo picked up in game two where it left off in game one by scoring two in the top of the first inning, and once again it was Wilson with the big hit. This time it was a single with the bases loaded for two more RBI. The Falcons threatened again in the top of the second but left two runners in scoring position.
Florida Southern began its comeback in the bottom of the second when Worcester hit her second double of the night, and Booker reached on a single to put runners at the corners with two out for Stearns. The Moccasin leftfielder pulled a pitch from Kelsey King into the rightfield corner for a triple that knotted the game at 2-2. When Pemberton homered in the bottom of the third (her second of the season), the Moccasins were up 3-2 and the night was over for King.
Now holding a one-run lead, Bowen took over the game for Florida Southern in the pitcher's circle. An error put the leadoff hitter at second base to start the top of the third, but the junior from Newberry, Florida used a double play to erase that runner, and retired nine in a row before pinch-hitter Shelby Clark doubled in the sixth. By that point the Moccasins had scored two more runs in the fourth inning to expand their lead to 5-2.
Bowen took that score into the seventh but ran into trouble when Sydney Aguilar and Vining had consecutive singles to start the inning. Worcester came through on defense for the Moccasins though when she threw out Aguilar trying to advance to third. Bowen then retired the next two hitters on ground balls to end the game. She allowed two runs on six hits, struck out six and walked three, improving to 2-2 on the season.
King fell to 1-2 for Montevallo, which used three pitchers in the game. The Moccasins had seven hits off of them, with Stearns collecting a triple and a double.
Florida Southern will play the first of 12 straight road games on Tuesday when it travels to West Palm Beach for a 4 p.m. doubleheader with Palm Beach Atlantic.
