LAKELAND, Fla. – Florida Southern College (10-4, 3-0 SSC) dominated the Florida Institute of Technology (8-7, 2-1 SSC) in a 17-7 score Tuesday night at Historic Henley Field.
Early in the game, the Mocs established a lead and went on to thwart an attempt at a late comeback from Florida Tech.
Jeff Liquori's four runs in five at-bats helped secure the win for FSC, along with home runs from
Drew Cavanaugh,
Mitch Donofrio, and
Jeff Liquori.
The contest began as a pitching duel, with neither team scoring until the third inning. Florida Tech took the lead in the third, scoring two runs on a homer.
Florida Southern answered in the bottom of the third, mirroring Florida Tech's action as Cavanaugh homered to center field, driving in Liquori.
The Mocs took an outright lead in the bottom of the fourth. The momentum began to build as
Rohsean Riley singled to right field. R. Riley stole second and Florida Tech walked
D'Ante Starks, putting two Mocs on base. Liquori flew out to right-center field, but the play enabled R. Riley to add one more run to the Mocs' score.
In the fifth, the Mocs took off and didn't look back. In Florida Southern's first at-bat, Cavanaugh tripled down the right-field line, putting himself into scoring position. His scoring opportunity came as
Bryce Safferwich had a base hit. Safferwich stole second, followed by Florida Tech walking two more batters. With bases loaded, Florida Tech made a pitching change. It wasn't enough to keep the Mocs from scoring, as all the runners on base advanced, and Safferwich scored, on a passed ball.
On the next play,
Connor Berry scored on a wild pitch, still leaving multiple Mocs on base. Starks singled, driving in Donofrio;
Jevin Relaford singled, driving in R. Riley; Liquori singled, driving in Starks.
Cavanaugh came up to bat, doubling to right center field and driving in two more Mocs runs for Liquori and Relaford. These two runs would be the end of the fifth-inning action for the Mocs, but not before they added eight runs, the most in a single inning so far this season, to their lead. The score at the end of the fifth stood Florida Southern 11, Florida Tech 2.
The Mocs defense held Florida Tech at bay in the sixth, but, in the bottom of the inning, added two more runs to their previous 11. First, Donofrio belted a home run to left field. A few batters later, Liquori doubled down the right field line, driving in Starks, who had initially reached first on an error by Florida Tech's right fielder.
Wells came in to pinch hit for
El'Rico Riley and gained a base after being hit by a pitch. Cavanaugh walked immediately afterward, loading the bases for the Mocs.
Ahmad Fitts came to bat for Safferwich and was also walked, allowing Liquori to gain a run. The Mocs wouldn't score again in the inning, leaving three hitters on base.
In the bottom of the seventh, with two others on base, Liquori homered to right field, driving in Relaford and
Will Wiltshire. At the end of the inning, the Mocs held a 15-run lead over Florida Tech.
The eighth inning brought a late resurgence of energy for Florida Tech. They added four runs to their score with a grand slam. After loading the bases once again, Florida Tech decreased their deficit to 10 runs.
Both teams failed to score again, making the final score 17-7 and extending the Mocs winning streak to eight games.
Lake Fisher was the winning pitcher for the Mocs, having only allowed three hits and two runs in four innings pitched.
Next on the schedule, The Mocs will host Assumption University at Historic Henley Field on Friday, March 3. The contest is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m.
