Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 ST. PETERSBURG – Erin Dixson delivered a 3-run homer in the first inning before a 2-run double in the bottom of the seventh by catcher Dana Paul gave Eckerd a 6-5 win in game one, and Dixson came back in the nightcap with a complete game effort in the pitcher's circle to give the Tritons an 8-1 win and a doubleheader sweep of Florida Southern on Sunday.
After getting shut out by Amber Hay on Friday night, the Moccasins (11-7, 0-3 Sunshine State Conference) scored off the Eckerd ace four times in the first three innings of game one Sunday. Junior second baseman Leah Pemberton (Valrico, Fla.) was responsible for the first run with a solo home run in the top of the first before the Mocs added three more in the third.
That inning started with a base hit by senior Kylee Stearns (Lakeland, Fla.) and a bunt single by senior Gianni Artidiello (Miami, Fla.). A passed ball moved both of them into scoring position and they scored when a long fly ball by junior Jordan Alexander (Valrico, Fla.) was misplayed in right for a 2-base error. After Alexander moved to third on a base hit by Pemberton, a ground ball hit by sophomore Hannah Loyer (Bradenton, Fla.) brought her in tie the score at 4-4.
Eckerd (18-2, 3-0) did all of its early scoring in the bottom of the first inning, using three hits and a walk to take a 4-1 lead after Pemberton's home run in the top half had put the Mocs ahead. Kaycie Duncan drove in one of those runs with an RBI single, and after a double by Hay, Dixson launched an 0-1 pitch over the leftfield fence for a 3-run homer.
The Tritons started the bottom of the second with two more hits, but Moccasin senior catcher Kim Booker (Bartow, Fla.) threw out one of them attempting to steal second. Booker also threw a runner out at the plate trying to score on a wild pitch in the fourth inning and picked a runner off second to end the fifth. The Tritons then left the bases loaded in the sixth inning, sending game one to the seventh inning still tied at four.
In the top half of the inning the Mocs took a 5-4 lead after loading the bases with none out on singles by Stearns and Alexander sandwiched around a walk by Artidiello. Hay issued another walk to Pemberton, which forced in the go-ahead run, but Eckerd's senior pitcher avoided further damage by getting a force out at the plate and two strikeouts.
Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh, the Tritons put their first two batters on base when Hay was hit and Dixson singled. After an attempted sacrifice bunt resulted in an out at third, Paul stepped to the plate and lined a pitch into right center that went to the fence for a game-ending 2-run double.
That hit made a winner of Hay, who improved to 11-2 on the season. The Moccasins got to her for eight hits and four walks, with Artidiello, Pemberton and Stearns all picking up two of those hits. Artidiello and Pemberton also had one of the walks.
Loyer fell to 2-2 for Florida Southern, pitching the first six innings plus two batters into the seventh. She gave up nine hits with five strikeouts and five walks. Dixson, Paul and Brittany Mitchell all had two hits for Eckerd.
Eckerd started the second game with a 2-run homer from Kara Oberer in the bottom of the first inning and built a 4-0 lead with a sacrifice fly by Duncan in the third and an RBI single by Mitchell in the fourth.
Florida Southern, meanwhile, had base runners in each of the first four innings with a total of two hits and four walks, but Duncan kept the Mocs from scoring with her defensive play in left field. The Mocs had runners at second and third with one out in the third when Pemberton smoked one to deep left that Duncan went back on and grabbed before it could get over her head. The Mocs thought they'd scored anyway, but a double play was called for the runner leaving third early on the tag. One inning later, Duncan sprinted to the line to make a diving catch against Loyer. The Mocs ended up leaving two runners on base after that.
The Moccasins did score in the fifth inning though when Stearns led off with a single and came home on a 2-out hit by Pemberton. The Tritons, however, got that run back plus one more in the bottom of the fifth and added two in the sixth for the final 8-1 margin.
Erin Dixson, who had the 3-run homer in game one, was the winning pitcher for Eckerd in game two, allowing one run on seven hits with one strikeout and four walks. In addition to the two big plays by Duncan in left, she also got a nice stop from second baseman Brittany Martinez, who went to the ground and threw out freshman Annmarie Scios (Lutz, Fla.) on a hotly hit ball in the sixth inning, and rightfielder Kirby Parnell, who went to the fence to take an extra-base hit away from Stearns in the seventh. The win improved Dixson's record to 6-0, and extended Eckerd's school-record winning streak to 13 games.
Sophomore Brandi Jones (Snellville, Ga.) fell to 7-2 with the loss, giving up four runs (three earned) in 4.0 innings. She struck five and walked none.
At the plate, Florida Southern was led by Artidiello, Pemberton, and Booker, who all had two hits. The Moccasins also got two walks from freshman Ashlyn Worcester (Bloomingdale, Ill.).
Florida Southern will be on the road for pair of regional doubleheaders this week, taking on 2nd-ranked Valdosta State on Tuesday at 2 p.m., and Spring Hill (AL) on Wednesday at 2 p.m. EST (1 p.m. Central).
