The Pirate softball team traveled to Sanford, Florida this past weekend to participate in an invitational hosted by Seminole State. It ended up being a tough weekend for PSC as they dropped three games, but they did walk away with a solid win over FCSAA no. 7 ranked State College of Florida. Continue reading below for individual game recaps.

Daytona State 11 PSC 3

The Pirates had a tough time generating runs in their first game on Saturday against Daytona State and they eventually fell 11-3. Daytona took an emphatic five run lead in the second inning and then proceeded to score three runs in the third and fourth. The Pirates finally pushed their first run across in the bottom of the fourth when Alexis Guzman doubled to plate Shelby Thornsberry. In the fifth inning Madison Marshall stroked a 2-run home run to make the score 11-3, but when the Pirates could not push more runs across the game ended early due to the 8-run mercy rule. Thornsberry was 2-for-3 in the game with one run scored while Guzman, Marshall and Brittney Rayfield each picked up hits in the game.

PSC 8 St. John's River 9

The second game of the day was a high scoring affair that ended in heartbreak for the Pirates as they gave up the lead late in the game. The Pirates jumped out to a four run lead in the first innings courtesy of a grand slam homerun off the bat of Madison Marshall. St. John's River (SJR) used an error to get themselves on the board in their half of the inning and make it 4-1. The scoreboard stayed the same until the top of the fourth when a single from Natalie Sorensen was followed by back-to-back doubles from Danielle de Ruiter and Kayla Leibman to extend the Pirate lead to 6-1. Alexis Guzman then stepped up to the plate and mashed a 2-run home run to left to make the score 8-1. The bottom half of the inning saw SJR lead off with a home run of their own to make the score 8-2. Things proceeded to get dicey in the bottom of the fifth for PSC when a couple of errors helped SJR pull to within three and then a 3-run home run knotted the score at eight. Yet another error hurt the Pirates in the bottom of the sixth when it allowed the go ahead run to reach third base and be driven in by a sacrifice fly to centerfield and give the Vikings the lead. Unfortunately in the top of the seventh PSC could only muster a walk and the game ended. The Pirates did collect nine hits in the game with Leibman going 3-for-4 with two RBI's, while Marshall was 2-for-4 with her grand slam and Guzman finished 2-for-3 with two RBI's.

PSC 9 State College of Florida-Manatee 4

On Sunday the Pirates got their offense going straight out the gate when Alexis Guzman doubled to score Shelby Thornsberry from first base in the first. In the second, PSC extended the lead to 2-0 thanks to singles from Jensen Strickland, Natalie Sorensen and Lia Johnson. A 3-run home run off the bat of Strickland gave the Pirates a 5-0 lead in the top of the third. A homer from Manatee in the bottom of the third cut the deficit to 5-2. The score remained the same until the top of the fifth when the Pirates strung together four singles with the last one from Sorensen plating a run to make it 6-2. PSC extended their lead to 9-2 in the top of the sixth courtesy of an error and a double from Madison Marshall. Manatee was able to push across two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, but then Strickland settled in on the mound and they did not threaten the rest of the game. Strickland was the leading hitter for the Pirates as she went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI's. Sorensen, Marshall and Johnson each collected two hits and an RBI in the game. Strickland threw a complete game and struck out six while picking up her seventh win of the season.

Florida State College Jacksonville 8 PSC 2

In their last game of the weekend PSC watched the game slip away early and could never find their footing as they fell to Florida State College of Jacksonville (FSCJ). The Blue Wave took the lead on a fielder's choice in the first and never relinquished it throughout the game. Defensive miscues led to FSCJ scoring six unearned runs in the game, while the Pirate offense could never get going. The bright spot offensively was Lia Johnson collecting her first home run of the year as she motored around the bases on a ball she drove into the left-center gap.

The Pirates will return to action on Tuesday, March 6th when they host Coastal Alabama-South in a doubleheader that will start at 3:00pm.

Photo courtesy: Dave Johnson