As the clock readies to “spring forward” for the start of daylight savings time, Florida Memorial University didn’t put its best foot forward Saturday as it came away with a split against visiting Bryant & Stratton College-Albany – winning the first game 9-8 and dropping the second game 9-7 in eight innings.
Because it was a non-conference doubleheader, both of Saturday’s games were slated for seven innings.
Winning the first game Saturday did secure the weekend series victory for the Lions, however, the series win rang hollow as Florida Memorial was hoping to come away with the sweep against a middling Bobcats team.
Florida Memorial had to avoid a seventh inning rally by Bryant & Stratton to come away with the 1-run win in Saturday’s opener while the second game saw the Bobcats hit a 3-run home run in the top of the eighth that put them just far enough ahead to down the Lions despite FMU’s own attempt at a last-inning rally.
Saturday’s first game followed a similar tenor as many of the other FMU victories have this season – getting on the board in the first inning – as the Lions took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to some solid hitting at the top of the order that was brought home by the middle hitters.
Florida Memorial (10-9), which will travel to Thomasville, Georgia this coming weekend (March 19-20) for a 3-game weekend series at conference foe Thomas University, would take a 7-1 lead by the end of the second inning – thanks again to the top of the order (first three batters) getting on base and the middle batters (four through six) bringing them across home plate.
It was a Carson Sorrell single that brought home Malik Shinozaki; a Yunior Sanchez single that brought home Sorrell; and a Jalen Young triple that brought home Sanchez and Axel Gomez – giving the Lions their largest lead.
Bryant & Stratton wouldn’t go down quietly, though. The Bobcats manufactured two runs in the top of each the third and fourth innings – capitalizing on a couple of FMU defensive errors – and tacked on two more runs in the top of the sixth to cut the Lions’ lead to 9-7.
The Bobcats plated another run in the top of the seventh to pull within a run of FMU and threatened to take the lead as the Bryant & Stratton loaded the bases with just one out.
Lions head coach Florentino Burgos elected to move Sorrell from third base to the pitching mound and Sorrell, and once Sorrell settled in – after he walked a batter and hit another to help load the bases – the freshman shut the door on the Bobcats with back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.
Six different FMU players had multi-hit games in game one Saturday – Shinozaki, Sorrell, Gomez, Young, Luis Rivera, and reserve catcher Luis Velandia all recorded 2 hits. Young led with a game-high 3 RBI with a double and a triple. Shinozaki had two doubles while Rohandry Javier had 3 stolen bases.
LIONS DROP GAME TWO SATURDAY
After rallying back from a 5-3 deficit in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 5, Florida Memorial couldn’t climb out of its four-run hole in the bottom of the eighth as it only produced two runs and fell 9-7 in the second game Saturday.
Bryant & Stratton edged ahead of the Lions with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly that brought one run home then truly pulled away on the next batter, who hit a deep shot over the right field fence – bringing home three and extending the Bobcats’ lead to 9-5.
FMU tried to make one last push, loading the bases thanks to a Young hit followed by consecutive walks of Zach Urso and his brother Sam Urso. Bryant & Stratton gifted Florida Memorial two runs by walking Josue Sanchez and Shinozaki – making the score 9-7 – but the Lions’ next three batters couldn’t put the ball in play and gave the Bobcats the 9-7 victory.
Young went 2-for-3 with a run scored in the second game; Josue Sanchez was 1-for-3 with a triple and 2 RBI; and Yunior Sanchez was 1-for-2 with run scored, a RBI, and 2 walks drawn.