LAKELAND, Fla. – Senior left fielder Brent Richey turned in an impressive day at the plate, but it wasn't enough for Lincoln Memorial University baseball, who dropped the series opener with receiving-votes/No. 30 Florida Southern Friday at Henley Field in Lakeland, Florida, 9-4.
 
LMU slips to 3-5 on the year, while the Moccasins move to 6-2.
 
Richey blasted his third home run of the season en route to a 3-for-5 day at the plate, where he also scored twice. Freshman third baseman Mason Kelley also tallied two hits, while junior first baseman Brandon Parrott launched his first round-tripper of the year.
 
It was a game of long balls, as a solo shot in the second inning got the Mocs onto the board. The Railsplitters quickly tied things up in the fourth with Richey's blast, his third consecutive contest with a homer, but the tie was short lived after Florida Southern logged back-to-back blasts, both to right center field no less, to add some cushion with a 3-1 lead.
 
The Mocs again went yard, going up 5-1 on a two-run shot from junior first baseman Justin Teter in the fifth, and used a trio of singles with a pair of walks and a sacrifice fly to plate their final four runs of the game, all coming in the sixth.
 
Parrott homered in the seventh to narrow the gap, and the Railsplitters continued to threaten in that frame after Kelley singled up the middle and moved to third on a double from freshman Collin Goda.
 
The Railsplitters took advantage of a trio of wild pitches late in the game. Richey led off the eighth with a single, moving up two bases on a single from classmate Tyler Adams, and scored on the first of three consecutive wild pitches. Adams repeated the sequence, coming home the next batter for LMU's final run of the day.
 
Redshirt sophomore righty Evan Porter took the loss, striking out just three over four innings of work. The relief efforts of juniors Ryan Franklin and Mason Turner tossed two scoreless frames, as Franklin registered a perfect inning, facing his minimum.
 
Up Next…
The Railsplitters complete their non-conference road series with the Mocs Saturday with a twinbill. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m., with the finale slated for 4 p.m. in Lakeland.  
 
How to Follow
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Railsplitter baseball throughout the 2020 season.