ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Florida Southern College baseball (7-4, 1-0 SSC) defeated Eckerd College (5-3, 0-1 SSC) on the road Friday, Feb. 24 at the Turley Athletic Complex, by a score of 8-4.
Florida Southern sought revenge after an 8-6 loss to Eckerd at home earlier in the season. Two Moccasins hit home runs during the game –
Jeff Liquori and
Connor Berry. Leading Florida Southern in hits were Berry and
Rohsean Riley.
Nathan Madej got the start for the Mocs and ended with 13 strikeouts in just six innings, the most strikeouts since Logan Browning struck out 13 in seven innings back in 2017.
Eckerd took an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, pressuring the Mocs to answer to a dominant performance. The Mocs' break came in the second when
Mitch Donofrio took advantage of a base gained on balls and a single by Riley to enter scoring position. Donofrio advanced to third when
D'Ante Starks was hit by a pitch and ran home on a wild pitch to score the first run of the night for the Mocs.
The Mocs added two more runs to their total in the third, thanks to a home run by Berry. Berry's homer also drove in
Bryce Safferwich, who had reached first after being hit by a pitch.
In the top of the fourth, the Mocs took the lead outright. Eckerd's defense walked Starks and Liquori was hit by a pitch. On the following play, Starks scored on a single by
El'Rico Riley, making the score 4-3.
Florida Southern sprang into action once again in the sixth when Liquori hammered the ball over the right field fence, driving in a run for
Jevin Relaford.
At the bottom of the sixth,
Andrew Williamson relieved Madej, who, in six complete innings pitched, allowed six hits and three runs.
The Mocs defense would go on to prevent Eckerd from scoring again until the top of the ninth.
During the top of the seventh inning, the Mocs set themselves up for success once again following singles from
Drew Cavanaugh and Safferwich. Eckerd's pitcher loaded the bases by walking Berry. After a fielder's choice, Cavanaugh failed to score, but later, Safferwich ran home after R. Riley singled to right field to make the score 7-3 through seven.
The Mocs extended their lead in the top of the ninth, as Berry drove in his third RBI of the night on a double to right center field. This prompted a pitching change from Eckerd. With bases loaded, the new Eckerd pitcher struck out Relaford. Mocs left 10 on base by the end of the game.
Justin Stewart entered the game to pitch for the Mocs in the ninth. The first batter he faced advanced to first after being hit by a pitch, and gained two more bases on wild pitches, eventually coming in for an Eckerd run.
Justin Wit came in to pitch with bases loaded, striking out one batter. The third out came after a diving catch by Liquori, sealing the deal for the Mocs and ending the contest.
The winning pitcher was Madej, who is now 2-0 this season, with Wit accounting for the save. FSC pitchers had a combined 18 strikeouts, the most since 2017 when FSC tied a school record 19 strikeouts in a 2-1 win over Minnesota State on March 3, 2017.
Florida Southern will take on Eckerd College in a doubleheader tomorrow, Feb. 25, beginning at 1 p.m. at the Turley Athletic Complex in St. Petersburg.
