Box Score ST. PETERSBURG – Brandi Jones was at her best Friday night in Florida Southern's first Sunshine State Conference game of the year, but unfortunately for her and the Moccasins, so was Eckerd pitcher Amber Hay. After 11 scoreless innings between two of the league's top pitchers so far this season, Carrie Shere delivered a game-winning RBI single with one out in the bottom of the 12th, giving the Tritons a 1-0 win.
It marked only the second extra-inning game ever played between the two teams in 112 all-time meetings, with the first a 15-inning win by the Moccasins last year in Lakeland. That one took over four hours to play and Friday's took 3:20 in frigid conditions. Shere finally ended it with her line drive single to left after the #8 and #9 hitters, Dana Paul and Kirby Parnell had singled with one out in the bottom of the 12th.
Eckerd (16-2, 1-0) actually had 12 hits off Jones, but five of those were infield singles and a double by Brittany Mitchell was a flare that dropped in barely over the infield and in fair territory. The sophomore from Snellville, Georgia struck out 11 and walked one. She worked out of trouble in the ninth, tenth and eleventh innings and in two of them got the SSC's leading home run hitter, Kara Oberer, to ground out for the final out with a runner in scoring position. The loss was Jones' first of the season against seven wins.
Florida Southern (11-5, 0-1) was held to five hits by Hay, two of them by senior Gianni Artidiello (Miami, Fla.) and two by junior Leah Pemberton (Valrico, Fla.). Hay struck out nine, walked one, and also fielded 11 balls back to the pitcher's circle as the senior improved to 9-2 on the season and lowered her ERA to 0.63.
Through the first five innings, the teams combined for only three base runners, two by Florida Southern and one by Eckerd. The Moccasins had their two on singles by sophomore Hannah Loyer (Bradenton, Fla.) in the second and Pemberton in the fourth. Each time the Moccasins got the runner to second but they were stranded there. Pemberton was left on base when senior Priscilla Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.) hit a bullet into left center, but it was run down by Eckerd leftfielder Kaycie Duncan.
It was also Duncan who gave the Tritons their first base runner of the game when she led off the bottom of the fifth with a slow roller to short that she beat out for an infield single. The Tritons tried to bunt her into scoring position, but Jones was out of the circle quickly to field it and threw Duncan out at second. With Hay now at first after the failed sacrifice, the Tritons put her in motion, and she ended up at third on an error. Jones was able to keep her there with consecutive strikeouts to end the inning.
Eckerd threatened again in the bottom of the sixth when Mitchell hit a bloop double down the line in right field with one out. Jones got the second out with a strikeout before Oberer hit another slow rolling ground ball, this one to second, that went for another infield hit. When Mitchell tried to score from second on the play, Pemberton alertly threw home and senior catcher Kim Booker (Bartow, Fla.) put the tag on for out number three.
Jones again worked out of the trouble in the eighth inning after Eckerd loaded the bases on a hit batter and 2-out singles by Mitchell and Shere. Once more Jones had to face Oberer with the game on the line and this time her ground ball to second resulted in a straight out at first.
Then it was the Mocs' turn to threaten in the top of the ninth with a leadoff single by senior Gianni Artidiello (Miami, Fla.) and an error that allowed her to take second on the play. Loyer's grounder to second got her over to third base, giving the Mocs two chances to get her in from there. Pemberton almost did it – twice. The junior second baseman smoked one pitch down the right field line that was barely foul, and Eckerd second baseman Brittany Martinez then robbed her of a hit with a spectacular leaping catch that held Artidiello at third. Hay was able to get the third out of the inning without difficulty to keep the game scoreless.
The Tritons were unable to score in the ninth even after Duncan tripled with one out, and they left a runner at second in the tenth. In the eleventh, Jones got help from her catcher when Booker threw Martinez out at third attempting to steal for the last out of the inning.
Florida Southern and Eckerd resume their series on Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
