LAKELAND, Fla. - Florida Southern College softball honored the alumni with a Sunshine State Conference doubleheader split as they rallied to a 1-0, 11-inning loss, before dominating a 4-0 shutout win against Palm Beach Atlantic.
The Moccasins (13-26, 5-12 SSC) outhit the Sailfish (13-19, 9-12 SSC) 11-to-10 with nine of the hits coming in game two for FSC.
FLORIDA SOUTHERN 0, PALM BEACH ATLANTIC 1
The game's first hit came in the top of the second, as the Sailfish attacked first with back-to-back hits from a one-out single, and a two-out double to put both runners in scoring position. The Mocs defense quickly turned the play to get the third out and head into the bottom of the inning.
Kenleigh Smith earned the first hit of the game for FSC from a two-out triple down the left field line in the bottom of the third. With the second baseman just 60 feet from home plate,
Gabby Young was walked to have runners at the corners for the Mocs. Young advanced to second with a stole base putting pressure on the Sailfish defense, PBA forced the out to get the game scoreless.
In the fifth inning, both teams put runners on, as Palm Beach Atlantic added their third hit of the day and the Mocs reached on a hit by pitch and error. Neither team could cut the scoreless game as they head into the sixth inning. In the top of the sixth, the Sailfish hit their fourth hit with two outs, but
Mel Rogers left the runner stranded at first with a strikeout swinging for the right-handed pitchers' seventh strikeout of the day.
In the top of the seventh, PBA was threatening at third after reaching an error, but a pop-up kept the score at 0-0 as we headed into the bottom of the seventh. With two outs,
Morgan Roden stepped up for a single to left center field, but a quick out forced the game into extra innings.
It was not until the top of the 11th inning when the Sailfish scored from an RBI double to make it a 1-0 and win game one of the doubleheader to win the series with the 1-0 win last night.
FLORIDA SOUTHERN 4, PALM BEACH ATLANTIC 0
The Moccasins opened up game two hot, with back-to-back doubles from Roden and
Kelsey Kadlub giving the Mocs a 1-0 advantage after the RBI from Kadlub. With two outs and bases loaded, third baseman
Macayla Brady hit a bases-clearing triple to give FSC a 4-0 lead after just one inning of action.
Both teams had opportunities with runners on base, but nothing else came across home plate. In the top of the fifth, the Sailfish had a runner threatening at third base but
Ashley Blessin struck out the batter to keep PBA scoreless.
In the bottom of the sixth, Brady led off with a double to center field, advancing to third from a ground out that left her stranded with back-to-back outs. With the Mocs up 4-0, the Sailfish tried to rally in the final inning, but game two went to FSC to snap a 10-game losing streak.
In the circle, Blessin (5-6) earned the win pitching a complete game to shutout PBA having just four hits while striking out three batters. From the plate, Brady and Kadlub both went 2-for-3 with Brady bringing in three runs and Kadlub with one.
Florida Southern College returns to Chris Bellotto Field on April 12 to open the SSC series against Lynn University with a single game. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Friday with a doubleheader to follow on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
