LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College baseball team was unable to upset the No. 8 Colorado Mesa University in a 4-3 loss Wednesday night at Henley Field.
The Mocs (1-3, 0-0 SSC) held the Mavericks to just two hits but struggled on the mound with eight walks and four wild pitches in the loss. The Mavericks (1-0, 0-0 RMAC) won their season opener while capitalizing on a hitless third inning with three runs to take and hold the lead for the 4-3 victory.
D'Ante Starks led the Mocs at bat, with two hits and one run. Also adding to the team's score was
Jevin Relaford, with one hit and two runs.
Jake Curry was credited with the loss, giving up four runs on one hit in three innings.
The Mocs took an early lead thanks to a single by Relaford and a double by Starks. Relaford and Starks scored on the following outs, including a sacrifice fly by
Nick Collins for a 2-0 lead in the first. A second-inning triple enabled Colorado Mesa to score their first run of the evening though the Mocs still had the lead through the second.
FSC was unable to extend the lead in the bottom of the second and the visiting Mavericks took advantage of the opportunity. Five walked batters put the Mavericks in scoring position, and two wild pitches allowed three runs scored by CMU to take a 4-2 lead in the third.
Singles by
Jaiden Warde and
Bryce Safferwich in the fourth offered opportunities for the Mocs, especially after a hitless top half for the Mavericks, however, FSC could not cut into the CMU lead.
Brandon Laux pitched in relief of Curry to start the fourth and held the Mavericks at bay through three hitless and scoreless innings as FSC battled to stay in the game.
Relaford reached first on an error and stole second in the bottom of the fifth to set himself in scoring position as another error by the Mavs in Warde's at-bat allowed Relaford to score, cutting the Mocs' deficit to just one run.
In the seventh, FSC had bases loaded after advancing on walks by CMU, however, all three were left on after a strikeout and pop-up in the final two outs of the inning. The Mavericks had their turn with loaded bases in the eighth, but
Justin Stewart struck out the last batter who faced him to prevent Colorado Mesa from increasing their lead.
A lone single by Collins in the ninth could not propel the Mocs into the lead and the score of 4-3 stood final for a CMU victory in FSC's home opener. FSC left 11 on base in a difficult game despite outhitting CMU. Eight walks, four wild pitches, and a hit batsman hurt FSC on the mound in the low-scoring affair. Liam Hohenstein was credited with the win and Ethan Voss the save.
The Mocs will enter three weeks on the road beginning with a three-game series against Georgia Southwestern State on Feb. 9-11 in Americus, Ga.
