MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Southern College baseball team swept Florida Tech in a doubleheader Sunday afternoon at the Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field.
The Mocs (31-15, 16-10 SSC) didn't score until the sixth inning of game one, and four runs in the eighth helped lead the team to a 6-3 game one win. The Panthers (22-23, 11-15 SSC) scored first in consecutive games but were unable to hold the lead with Mocs scoring eight in a single inning of game two for a 9-5 final and doubleheader sweep.
FLORIDA SOUTHERN 6, FLORIDA TECH 3
The Mocs battled at the mound in game one as
Nathan Madej went three innings with only two hits and no runs allowed. On the opposite side, Vassallo with the Panthers held the Mocs to two runs in his six innings of work, with neither team scoring until the bottom fourth.
Florida Tech scored the first with an RBI double in the fourth and two runs in the fifth. Tech took advantage of an error for the first run of the fifth and a wild pitch sent the next run home for the 3-0 lead.
A sacrifice fly by
Mitch Donofrio send
Drew Cavanaugh home for the first run and
Rohsean Riley followed with an RBI single to send
Connor Berry home and narrow the deficit to one through six innings.
Mitchell LeRoy relieved Madej for two innings, but a strong effort by
Justin Wit and
Andrew Williamson kept the Panthers scoreless in the final four innings for the Moccasins to take the lead.
Ryan Magdic hit a massive RBI double to left center for Berry to make it home and
Jevin Relaford smashed a three-run homer as the fourth run in the inning and took a 6-3 lead in the eighth. Wit was credited with the win as Williamson earned the save, allowing no hits and no runs in the final two innings of work for the game one Moccasin win.
FLORIDA SOUTHERN 9, FLORIDA TECH 5
Another tight start to the game as neither scored in the first two innings until Florida Tech struck first in the bottom of the third. An RBI single tallied the first run for the Panthers, with a wild pitch sending the second home. Magdic hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth to send Cavanaugh home and narrow the deficit, but Tech scored again in the bottom fourth for a 3-1 FT lead.
Florida Southern racked up the runs in the top of the sixth with eight runs scored and a big lead in the final innings. Mocs opened the score with an RBI double by
D'Ante Starks, with back-to-back RBI singles by Cavanaugh and
Bryce Safferwich for two more scores.
El'Rico Riley had a sac fly and a passed ball brought in runs four and five. The final runs of the inning came from a 2 RBI single by Starks for
Julio Cortez to score and a 9-3 lead.
The Panthers cut into the Moccasin lead with an RBI single, a passed ball sending a run, and a 9-5 game.
Aric McAtee got the start for the Mocs, with
Kerry Wright and
Justin Stewart relievers in the next three innings.
Christian Suarez handled the final inning and secured the 9-5 Moccasin win and doubleheader sweep.
The Mocs wrap up the series against the Panthers tomorrow, May 8, set for a 1 p.m. start at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field.
