As the Daytona State softball team wraps up their season, they embark on a pair of back-to-back home doubleheaders. Kicking things off on Saturday, April 6, the Falcons welcomed the number 3 ranked Florida Southwestern State College Buccaneers to town.
Daytona came into the contest with an overall season record of 19-21, just a shave below .500 on the season campaign.
The early parts of this game looked less than ideal for the Falcons, who had just one hit on one run through the first 5 innings, courtesy of a Logan Ringel RBI single in the bottom of the 4th that drove in Cristina Penney.
A leadoff walk by Hope Barnett gave DSC a glimmer of light as they reached the conclusion of game 1, trailing 2-1, and from there, the floodgates flew wide open. Penney next up to the plate reached on an error from the Bucs’ third baseman, which simultaneously allowed Barnett the chance to advance to third.
Penney then stole second base and they were later both driven in by Kaili Cannon to take the lead at 3-2. Gissel Morales pinch-ran for Olivia McCroan after getting HBP.
Photo by Daytona State Athletics.
A ground out from the next batter put Morales and Cannon on second and third respectively, who both advanced after Kadrianna Grinstead grounded out to second.
Sky Ramos was also HBP, and then her and Morales pulled off a miraculous double steal that resulted in Ramos getting picked off. Well worth it, however, because it allowed Morales to score for the Falcons’ fifth and final run of the ball game, and they went on to win 5-2 in game 1.
Game 2 was much less eventful for the Falcons, as they fell 9-3 with not much action at all. Florida Southwestern State took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first and coasted to victory from there
They had an explosive 14 hits to the Falcons’ measly 5. Daytona recorded 1 run in the bottom of the second due to a Morales RBI single, and 2 in the fifth off of a couple of fielders choices from the Bucs.
After this 2 game split, Daytona’s record went to 20-22, an unfortunate sub-par season so far, but on pace for better than a year ago where they finished 25-35.
The second set of doubleheaders came just this past Tuesday, April 9, when the Falcons faced off against the Seminole State College of Florida Raiders, who came into the contest slightly better, logging a record of 22-18.
No scoring occurred through the first 2 innings, but a Brianna Weimer HBP to lead off the home half of the third set up an offensive display for DSC.
Morgan Davis doubled down the right field line, which brought in Weimer all the way from first to open the game’s scoring. Davis then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Kiera Mainolfi then flew out to a sacrifice fly, which brought in Davis and doubled the lead for the Falcons.
A Penney walk followed by a Cannon single allowed Penney to go first to third with one swing of the bat, putting runners at the corners for Morales.
Another double steal pulled off nearly identical to what we saw in Saturday’s matchup, resulting in Penney scoring thanks to Cannon’s “sacrifice” steal. This was the cap of a 3-run inning, which would prove to be Daytona’s bulk of the offense.
The SSC Raiders then slowly chipped away at the lead, scoring 1 run in the fifth and 2 in the sixth. After a scoreless bottom half of the sixth inning, DSC and SSC headed to the seventh and final inning all square at 3 runs a piece.
After a leadoff lineout from Kadrianna Grinstead, Sky Ramos came to the plate. Ramos got a hold of a pitch and launched it over the center field fence, walking it off for the Falcons with her fifth HR and twentieth RBI of the year.
After a roller coaster of a game 1, DSC looked to come back into the second game and take both from the Raiders. The second game was a near-mirror image of game 1, but the roles were reversed.
A plethora of offense in the top half of the second gave the Raiders a 4 run cushion early into the contest, but the Falcons chipped away just like the Raiders did in game 1.
A Grinstead single in the home half of the frame allowed the Falcons to get on the board.
Photo by Daytona State Athletics.
However, the Raiders managed to get that run right back in the top half of the next inning, thus restoring the 4 run lead.
No scoring occurred for the next couple of plate appearances for both teams, until the bottom of the fifth when a pair of singles from Kaili Cannon and Cristina Penney drove in 2 runs for the Falcons, slicing the deficit to just 2 runs as they headed to the sixth inning.
No offense for SSC offered the Falcons an opportunity to knot up the contest before going to the final frame. After Grinstead reached first on a fielder’s choice, Brianna Weimer stepped up to the dish with an opportunity to flip the script.
And that she did. A home run over the right field wall finished the comeback as the Falcons clawed back to tie up the game. It was her eighth HR and nineteenth and twentieth RBIs of the season.
Despite this fiery comeback from DSC, it wasn’t enough as the SSC Raiders scored in the top of the eighth, the first inning of extra innings. The Falcons came up to the plate but went down just as quickly, with a pair of groundouts and a fly out.
After 2 split doubleheaders, the Falcons record forwarded to 21-23. Their next home contest will be on April 17 when they welcome in St. Johns River State College. If you’d like to check out a game before the season wraps up, check out the link here: 2023-24 Daytona State College Softball Schedule – Daytona State College (dscfalcons.com)