Box Score
LAKELAND, Fla. – The Warner University baseball team fell to cross-county rival and NCAA-II no. 2 Florida Southern College 16-4 on Tuesday night, Feb. 2. The Royals saw their record fall to 2-2 on the year while the Mocs open their 2010 campaign 1-0 with the victory.
The Moccasins took a 1-0 lead in first inning on a bases loaded fielding error allowing one run to score. Royal’s starter Anthony Machado would pitch out of the jam only giving up the one run. The Moccasins used two big innings, a seven-run third and an eight-run fourth to break the game open. They sent 11 men to the plate in each of those innings and capitalized on four of Warner's seven errors in the game.
The Royals would find some offense in the sixth inning when a Dan Smith double brought home Justin Zanella who led off the inning with a single. Cory Johnson followed suit with a two-RBI single bringing home Smith and Ryan Paul. Warner’s only other run came in the eighth inning when Dan Smith connected on his first homerun of the season to deep right field.
For the game, Smith led the Royals going 3-3 with two 2Bs and a homerun. Johnson went 2-4 with two RBIs and threw out the Mocs only steal attempt in the second inning.
Machado (0-1) went two and two-thirds innings giving up eight runs but only two were earned on a tough night defensive for the Royals. On a pitching by committee night, five Royals saw action on the mound. Tyler Crews, Jeff Jacobsen, Kyle Janovsky and Josh Castanza followed Machado and finished the rest of the game for the Royals.
The Royals will continue their three game road swing of NCAA-II competition this Saturday when they travel to St. Petersburg, Fla. to take on the Tritans of Eckerd College in a double header starting at 12 p.m.