DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A huge five-run first inning lifts the Florida Southern College baseball team with a 7-5 win over Embry-Riddle Friday night to start their weekend series at Sliwa Stadium.
The Mocs (27-18, 18-7 SSC) had homers by
Nick Wells and
Jeff Liquori to lead off the first inning and early FSC lead. The Eagles (20-24, 8-17 SSC) scored three runs in the ninth but their rally cut short as Mocs hold on in 7-5 win.
Florida Southern went to work early as they led off with a single by
Nathan Chevalier before Wells smashed his second pitch over the left field fence and 2-0 lead. Continuing with the momentum,
Duncan Hunter hit a great double to allow Liquori up to bat. Trailing the right field line, Liquori's shot was fair for another two-run homer and 4-0 lead. The Mocs scored their fifth run of the inning with an RBI single by
Grady Maguire for
Connor Berry to score.
The Mocs extended their lead to six with an RBI double by
Jared DeSantolo to send Wells home in the second before the Eagles responded with two runs off four hits in the bottom of the second. An RBI by Post and Vittoria were responsible for the doubles to bring in the Eagles and four-score deficit.
Both teams relied on great defense to keep the game a 6-2 Moccasin advantage through the next four innings until Florida Southern added another run in the sixth with another RBI single by Maguire. A great job by
Mitchell LeRoy kept Embry-Riddle without any more runs up to the bottom of the ninth. The Eagles had back to back homers by Martinez and Kennedy-Davis scored three runs and two-run deficit. LeRoy stayed firm as he would strikeout the next two batters to seal the FSC victory.
Nathan Madej gets his seventh win of the season through his five innings of work. He struck out six as
Mitchell LeRoy came in to relieve and fend off the late rally in his four innings and four strikeouts.
UP NEXT
The Mocs will continue their conference bout against the Eagles with a doubleheader tomorrow afternoon, beginning at 1 p.m. at Sliwa Stadium.
