LAKELAND, Fla. - The Florida Southern College softball team dropped the Sunshine State Conference doubleheader after winning the series opener against Eckerd College on Friday evening. The Moccasins dropped game one of the twinbill 4-0, before falling in extras in game two 2-1 on Chris Bellotto Field.
The Moccasins (7-24, 2-13 SSC) were led by
Shelbie Valencia in game one going 2-for-2 from the plate, as game two had four with two hits apiece as
Gabby Young,
Keira Morris,
Kate Mikle, and
Jadyn Bushnell all contributed to the Mocs 10 hits.
For the Tritons (16-10, 7-5 SSC) Julia Heter (7-2) led the way in the circle and from the plate earning wins in both games while going 2-for-3 from the plate in game two.
FLORIDA SOUTHERN 0, ECKERD 4
Eckerd got on the board first in the opener with a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Young put the first hit on the board in the bottom of the third but the Tritons made it a 4-0 game in the fourth via a two-run single by Lex Difato and an RBI single by Hannah Taylor.
Valencia hit a lead off single in the bottom of the fourth and another single to right center in the bottom of the sixth but the Moccasins could not bring her home. Florida Southern had one more chance in the bottom of the seventh as
Nei Nei De Jesus came into pinch hit hitting her first collegiate single but was not enough as Mocs fell 4-0 in game one.
Kayla Hickey (3-5) got the nod in the circle pitching a complete game allowing just one earned run on five hits while striking out two.
FLORIDA SOUTHERN 1, ECKERD 2
FSC got on the board first with a Valencia RBI single in the third. The Mocs kept the Triton bats at bay over the first six innings before Eckerd finally got on the board in the seventh to tie the game at 1-1 and force extra innings off Heter's RBI single. In the eighth, Mocs had a pitching change that allowed the Tritons to score from an RBI single that gave Eckerd the go ahead run, 2-1.
With one last opportunity for the Mocs, Mikle singled up the middle with one out, but was left stranded at first as game two went to the Tritons in eight innings of play.
Florida Southern takes an extensive break and will return to action on Chris Bellotto Field on Tuesday March 25 as they host the University of West Florida in the final non-conference doubleheader of the season. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
