LAKELAND, Fla. – In a midweek regional contest that pitted the Saint Leo baseball team against the fourth-best pitching staff in the Sunshine State Conference, the Lions fell to the Florida Southern Moccasins by an 18-5 score.

Florida Southern jumped on the board first, picking up five runs in the bottom of the first when the Mocs registered four singles and a homerun.

Saint Leo was unable to answer back in the top of the second, and the Mocs turned around in the bottom of the inning to score six more runs, taking an 11-0 lead.

The Lions were able to jump on the board in the top of the third, picking up one run on a homer from junior Bobby Twitty. After holding Florida Southern scoreless in their half of the third, Saint Leo tacked on three more in the top of the fourth when sophomore Taylor Perez led off with a single and senior Fran Whitten followed with a two-run homerun to dead centerfield. Two outs later, an RBI single from Cole Stancil gave the Lions' their fourth run of the contest.

In the bottom of the fourth and the fifth, Florida Southern capitalized on two more runs, pushing their lead to 13-4.

The sixth inning featured a scoreless frame for both teams, but the Mocs rallied for three more runs in bottom of the seventh and forced a 16-4 lead in their favor.

Although the Lions scored another run in the top of the eighth inning, Florida Southern rebounded in their at-bat to pick up two more runs and take an 18-5 lead heading into the final inning of the contest.

Despite the score, the Lions collected 13 hits in the contest. The squad also earned three walks and forced two Florida Southern errors.

Though junior Kevin Games took the mound for the Lions to start the contest, four pitchers appeared for Saint Leo in the loss, including Tyrone Miller, Ethan Lichtenberg, and Shaun Adams. The pitching staff allowed 20 Florida Southern hits.

The Lions will return to action on Friday when they travel to Melbourne, Fla. to take on the Florida Tech Panthers in Sunshine State Conference action. First pitch for the Friday night contest is set for 6:00 p.m.

For more on the Saint Leo baseball team, visit SaintLeoLions.com. Also, be sure to 'Like' the Lions on Facebook and 'Follow' Saint Leo Athletics on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.