LAKELAND, Fla. - Florida Southern College softball opened the Sunshine State Conference series against Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a doubleheader split on Friday evening. The Eagles (29-19, 12-14 SSC) won game one with a 3-1 final while the Moccasins (16-31, 8-18 SSC) took game two 9-7.
FLORIDA SOUTHERN 1, EMBRY-RIDDLE 3
The Mocs had the first hit of the game, as
Kenleigh Smith hit a single to third base, beating out the throw to first. Smith advanced to second on a stolen base, but was the second baseman who was stranded to close out the first inning of action.
A Florida Southern error allowed a runner to get into scoring position, but
Kiki Morris made a play in center field to get out of the inning with no damage done. In the top of the third, Embry-Riddle had their first hit of the game similar to the Mocs first hit with a base hit to short to beat the throw to first. The runner at first advanced to second on a ground out to have runners threatening at second and first.
Gabby Young grabbed the third out to get out of the inning running into foul territory to head into the bottom of the inning with no damage done.
In the bottom of the third,
Skyler Ralstin led off with a single, advancing to second on the error and later third on a wild pitch to quickly get 60 feet from home. With just one out, the Mocs had the opportunity to score Ralstin, but the right fielder was left stranded on third base.
After a quick three up, and three down for right-handed pitcher
Ashley Blessin and company with a strikeout swinging and two lineouts in the top of the fourth,
Destiny Colgate led off the bottom of the fourth with a one-pitch single through the left side to get on base. Colgate advanced to second on a single from
Shelbie Valencia and both would advance into scoring position on double steals to get runners in scoring position for the Mocs. Colgate and Valencia were stranded at third and second to head into the fifth inning with the game still scoreless.
With two outs, the Eagles broke the silence scoring on a Mocs error to take a 1-0 lead. Embry-Riddle increased their lead by scoring from a double steal at second and the runner advancing to home after the throwout attempt to make it a 2-0 game. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Ralstin led off with a triple hit deep to right center field putting herself just 60 feet away from home for the second time. Ralstin scored to make it 2-1 with an RBI single over the second baseman from Smith to make it just a one-run game after five complete innings.
With the momentum on the Mocs side, Blessin went into the circle with fire striking out back-to-back batters to get out of the inning with three quick outs. In the bottom of the sixth,
Taylor Thomas led off with a double and advanced to third from a single from
Jadyn Bushnell to put runners at the corners with two outs. Bushnell advanced to second with a stolen base to put two runners into scoring position for FSC before being stranded.
Heading into the final inning of game one, the Eagles tacked on an insurance scoring from back-to-back singles to make it 3-1, making the Mocs rally. With one out, pinch hitter
Kate Mikle hit a double down the right field line giving FSC a chance with a runner in scoring position. Smith reached on a single just over the shortstop and into right-center field to put two runners on and one out for the last inning. Two hard hits tried to give the Mocs an opportunity but game one went to the Eagles with a 3-1 finale.
From the plate, Smith led the way going 3-for-4 with an RBI, followed by Ralstin going 2-for-3 with a triple. In the circle, Blessin (5-8) pitched a complete game allowing just one earned run on seven hits and striking out four batters.
FLORIDA SOUTHERN 9, EMBRY-RIDDLE 7
The Eagles continued the momentum from game one leading off with a single for game two. A one-out RBI single scored a runner from second to home to quickly give Embry-Riddle a 1-0 lead after one inning of play.
With one out the Mocs hit back-to-back singles to open game two, but runners were left in scoring position. In the top of the second inning, the Eagles extended their lead to 3-0 scoring from an RBI triple and sacrifice fly.
After battling it out to a full count against Embry Riddle's pitcher, Bushnell singled to left field and
Kiki Morris and Young followed to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the second. With bases loaded, Smith kept her bat hot from game one, batting in two runners to make it 3-2. The Mocs quickly tied the game on a sacrifice fly from Mikle and took the lead on an Eagles passed ball.
Right-handed pitcher
Kayla Hickey stepped in to pitch relief making quick work in the circle, forcing two groundouts and a strikeout allowing FSC to stay ahead. In the bottom of the third, Bushnell loaded the bases and Morris hit an RBI single to increase the Mocs lead. FSC took advantage of back-to-back Eagle errors allowing for a 7-3 lead with Morris threatening at third with still just one out. Young brought Morris home, hitting a deep flyout to make it 8-3 on the sacrifice.
With the fourth inning being quiet for both teams, Florida Southern led off with a walk and single from Valencia to put Colgate in scoring position. Bushnell moved the runners on a sac bunt and Morris hit an RBI sac fly to increase the Mocs lead up to 9-3.
With pressure on the Eagles to close the gap, ERAU loaded the bases with just one out in the top of the sixth. Embry-Riddle took advantage of the bases loaded and scored to cut the lead down to five with an RBI single through the right side. Mia Maachia hit a double deep into left-center field, clearing the bases before getting tagged out at third base to close in on the Mocs lead 9-7.
Blessin stepped back into the circle to close out the final inning, earning the first out with a strikeout, and closed out the game with a lineout to earn her first save. Since the Mocs never gave up the lead, starting pitcher
Amanda Lieberman (5-7) collected the win.
From the plate, FSC had three with two hits as the Mocs finished with 11 hits in game two and 10 in game one. Smith, Bushnell, and Morris all added two hits as Smith and Morris both had two runners batted in to help the Florida Southern with a doubleheader split.
Florida Southern returns to Chris Bellotto Field tomorrow for a single game against the Eagles as they honor six seniors before the game. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
