LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College baseball walked off in the ninth to defeat Indiana University of Pennsylvania 10-9 in the second game of a three-day series Tuesday night at Historic Henley Field.
After leading twice during the game, the Mocs and the Crimson Hawks were tied until the bottom of the ninth, when a base hit from
Mitch Donofrio enabled the Mocs to break away for the victory. Florida Southern extended their win streak to 14 straight games, the most since winning 17 in a row from March 3 to April 1 in 2017.
Evan Mobley started on the mound for the Mocs, walking the first batter, who would eventually score to give IUP an early lead. The Mocs were quick to respond though, with
Jeff Liquori being set up to score after singling to right field. Liquori advanced to second on a throw after
Drew Cavanaugh flied out to left field and scored as
Bryce Safferwich singled through the left, tying the game 1-1 at the end of the first.
IUP went scoreless in the second, giving the Mocs the opportunity to take the outright lead in what would be a five-run inning. Donofrio singled, followed by a double from
Rohsean Riley.
D'Ante Starks followed with another base hit, driving in both Donofrio and R. Riley. Liquori walked next and a double steal putt two Mocs in scoring position. Starks scored on a sacrifice fly and Liquori advanced to third before Cavanaugh followed with a two-run homer, clearing Liquori off of third base and prompting an IUP pitching change.
The Crimson Hawks held the Mocs at bay for three scoreless innings, meanwhile decreasing their own deficit to one run as IUP scored three in the fourth inning and a solo homer in the fifth for a 6-5 score through five innings.
Florida Southern broke away again in the sixth, regaining a three-run lead starting with two solo homers from Berry and R. Riley. Afterward, Starks reached first on a throwing error by the Crimson Hawks' second baseman and went on to score as Liquori gained first on another throwing error, this time by the Crimson Hawks' pitcher.
IUP rallied together in the seventh to score four times, three times off of
Jake Curry and once off of
Christian Suarez, who entered the game halfway through the inning. By the end of the seventh, the game was tied. The Mocs held off the Crimson Hawks during the eighth and ninth, leaving the score tied until the final out of the game.
After
Justin Stewart entered in the top of the ninth, striking out one, Donofrio ended the game with a base hit, driving in Cavanaugh for a 10-9 Moccasin win. The win went to Stewart, who closed the game and allowed no hits and no runs in one inning pitched. The three home runs were the third consecutive game with three or more shots over the fence. Cavanaugh and Liquori moved their hit streaks to 15, with R. Riley moving to 14 games and Safferwich to 12 games.
The Mocs will take on IUP again in the final game of the series tomorrow night at 6 p.m. at Historic Henley Field.
