LAKELAND, Fla. – Two late home runs haunt No. 16 Saint Leo as the Lions held a 3-0 lead before a three-run blast in the seventh. Leading 4-3 in the ninth, a solo shot from No. 2 Florida Southern tied things at 4-4. The Moccasins would go on to add another run in the bottom of the ninth to sneak away with a 5-4 decision in game one of the Sunshine State Conference series.
 
Saint Leo (34-10, 17-8 SSC) saw McCabe Sargent pitch for eight innings allowing three runs on three hits with two strikeouts on his way to the no decision. Peyton Isaacson came in for the bottom of the ninth and suffered the loss after allowing two runs on three hits.
 
Eight of the Lions' nine batters recorded a hit on the night where Amir Wright, Jared Morello and Derek Gibree were all credited with an RBI.
 
The Lions and Moccasins played scoreless baseball for four innings before the Lions broke through with two in the fifth. Derek Gibree reached on a fielder's choice allowing Zach Scott to score the first run of the game. Amir Wright hit a sacrifice fly to left field allowing Brett Coffel to come in and score the second run.
 
Saint Leo added another run in the seventh inning as Jared Morello hit a sacrifice fly to center field allowing Tate Sweatt to come in and push the Green and Gold ahead 3-0.
 
With one out, and two runners on in the bottom of the seventh, Florida Southern's Hayden Marze hit a deep fly ball to right field for a three-run home run.
 
Both teams went down in order in the eighth inning before the Lions added another in the top of the ninth to take a 4-3 lead. An error saw Jared Morello reach base and allow Lane Stancil to score. Stancil singled through the left side and advanced to third on a Wright single to left center.
 
A solo homer in the bottom of the ninth tied things at 4-4 before the Mocs could slid another run across the plate with a single to left center to walk off against the visiting Lions.
 
Up Next …
No. 16 Saint Leo and No. 2 Florida Southern return to action Friday, May 4 at 1 p.m. for a doubleheader.
 
For more on the Saint Leo baseball program, visit SaintLeoLions.com. Also, be sure to 'Like' the Lions on Facebook and 'Follow' Saint Leo Athletics on Twitter and Instagram.