LAKELAND, Fla. – The Saint Leo softball team (14-16, 2-2 SSC) fell to the Florida Southern College Moccasins (7-7, 2-2 SSC), 4-0, in Sunshine State Conference action Friday evening from Barnett Field in Lakeland.
The Lions outhit the Mocs, 8-5, but could not overcome nine runners left on base and two errors as Saint Leo dropped to .500 in the SSC.
Of Saint Leo’s eight hits, Dianne Gonzalez and Ashlee Sismilich each garnered a pair.
After exchanging zeros for the first two and a half innings, fielding woes reared its head again for the Lions as Dani Blake took advantage of such a play in the third, coming around to score on an RBI single from Karlyn Scott.
After Heather Raulerson connected on an RBI double in the fourth to score Khaliah Brown, a second Lions’ error later in the inning allowed pinch runner Brandy Pikus to score.
The fifth inning, however, saw the Lions mount a comeback attempt. A leadoff walk by Amber Martyn, followed by base hits from Ana Castillo and Jamie Lee Bansinger, allowed the Lions to load the bases with one out. Unfortunately, a fielder’s choice and a strikeout dashed any hopes of Saint Leo cutting into the lead.
The momentum the Mocs drew from the pitching circle, turned into offense in the bottom of the inning. Scott led off the inning with a walk, and soon manufactured her way around the bases until she came home to score on a ground out by pitcher Christine Clark.
A 4-0 deficit heading into the bottom of the inning, Saint Leo worked their way into loading the bases on a trio of singles. However, the Green & Gold could not find the clutch hit as a pop out ended the game for the Lions.
For the Mocs, Clark threw seven solid innings despite throwing 139 pitches. She struck out eight batters and scattered eight hits in the process.
On the Lions’ side, Still, who tossed four innings, surrendered two earned runs as she was pinned with the loss for the Lions, dropping to 7-5 on the season.
The Lions and Mocs will continue their conference series Saturday afternoon from Barnett Field. First pitch for the regional doubleheader is set for 1:00 p.m.
