LAKELAND, Fla. – University of West Florida baseball (0-1) dropped its season opener Friday in Lakeland, falling to No. 19 Florida Southern 4-2. Nic Strasser led UWF with two hits and a walk, Matt Sullivan hit his first home run of the season, and three Argo hurlers combined to strike out 14 Mocs in what ultimately proved to be a narrow defeat.
The 14 strikeouts were the most for the UWF staff since Feb. 24, 2016 when the corps struck out the same number against Spring Hill. Argo pitching also committed two balks and issued two walks and a hit-by-pitch. The UWF defense committed three errors in the game, all coming in the first four innings.
"As we talk about, when you're in these close ballgames, it comes down to pitching and defending," said UWF head coach Mike Jeffcoat. "We made a couple critical errors and had a couple balks that moved them into scoring position, and it ended up costing us."
Multiple UWF defensive miscues in the second helped the Mocs strike first. Hayden Marze reached against UWF starter Tony Kucera on an error at third and advanced on a botched pickoff attempt. He would come in later in the frame on a sacrifice J.P. DeBoyer.
Matt Sullivan took Mocs starter Logan Browning deep to begin the top of the fifth to tie the contest at 1-1. The home run was the 4th in the last 11 at-bats for the 2017 GSC All-Tournament selection dating back to the end of last season.
The Mocs quickly responded with a homer of their own in the sixth. Austin Mauer blasted off for a solo shot in the sixth off Kucera to help the home side regain the lead.
The Argos drew even in the top of the seventh on a Mason Dinesen sacrifice fly that scored Mike Branche, but the tie game was short-lived. In the bottom half of the seventh, the Mocs took the lead for good. An RBI double by Pablo Cabrera off Trace Penton, who relieved Kucera in the sixth, scored DeBoyer to make it a one-run lead. Mauer picked up another RBI on a groundout shortly thereafter to provide insurance.
In the 9th, the Argos ignited a two-out rally that nearly tied the game. Down to the last strike vs. closer Leo Rodriguez, Robert Lopez singled before Matthew Estrada drew a walk to make it two aboard. The rally was stanched though by Rodriguez, who induced a bouncer back to the mound to end the game.
Kucera took a no-decision, going five innings while surrendering two runs (one earned) and striking out seven. He allowed five hits and one walk. Penton (0-1) suffered the loss. He went 1.1 innings, giving up two runs (two earned) on two hits. He struck out three. Alex Knight finished the contest for the Argos, and, in his team debut, fired 1.2 innings of no-run, no-hit ball. He struck out four, including all three he faced in the eighth.
FSC starter Logan Browning pitched six innings of three-hit, one-run ball. He struck out eight but walked four and took a no-decision. Reliever J.T. Hintzen (1-0) picked up the win despite walking three and allowing an earned run in two innings. Rodriguez earned the save.
Strasser, playing in his first game since Mar. 26 of last season, reached base three times for the Argos. He gave the squad an early chance to take the lead with a two-out double in the first and would reach later in the game with a single and a walk.
UWF stranded eight in the game, while Florida Southern left six. Omar Villaman and Cody Burgess combined for five of the Mocs' seven total hits.
"If we can clean some of that up and match them on the defensive side and put more balls in play - be more competitive offensively - we can hang with them and maybe we can salvage this series tomorrow," said Jeffcoat.
UWF and No. 19 Florida Southern meet again Saturday in a doubleheader that will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. CT. The Argos are expected to start LHP Jared Middleton in Game 1 and LHP Kirk Maddox in Game 2.
For the latest information on UWF baseball, visit goargos.com and follow the team on Twitter @UWF_Baseball.
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