(Box Score) (Box Score 2)
LAKE WALES, Fla. ( Feb. 7, 2023) – For just the second time in program history, the Florida National University Conquistadors reign supreme over the Warner University Royals out of Lake Wales, Fla. FNU (3-1) came into this contest with an overall 3-1 record against the Royals (1-1) as Warner looked to open its 2023 season with two wins on home field. But FNU left Warner with just one victory as the Conquistadors mounted an impressive 10-2 win after falling 5-1 in the first of two games.
The opening contest between these two teams saw the Conquistadors give up three runs at the bottom of the third and one in the opening inning on a single from Haylie Young that pushed shortstop Payton Pilon in for the score. FNU struggled to get a hit on the board until Hayley Zimmerman delivered one in the third. But Warner’s pitching was elite producing three strikeouts before going up to bat.
Warner’s monster three runs on three hits in the third put some serious distance between them and the Conquistadors. A home run bomb in the fifth inning from Bailey Fernandez tallied FNU’s total runs for the contest as Warner’s right fielder Samantha Berube scored Royal’s final run of the contest during the sixth.
In game two, FNU got on the board early as a single from Ana De Oliveira Obando allowed Megen Johnson to make her way to home plate to make it 1-0. But the Royals evened the score 1-1 and the Conquistadors went on to score five unanswered runs through the third and fourth innings.
In the third, a single down the right field line from Tara McCaffery allowed Danika Lagodzinski to advance to second as Madison Chiudina recorded the unearned run. Lagodzinski would later record her first run of the contest and the inning. FNU scored two more runs until Warner collected its final score of the evening to make the score 6-2.
In the fifth, Obando singled to left field as Johnson advanced to third and pushed Yleisha Perez to home for FNU’s seventh run. Johnson put the finishing touches on the victory in the sixth with a double that led to a run apiece for Perez, Sabrina Castelli and Adalis Arroyo.
Pitcher Jona Goolsby had another solid game giving up just six hits and two walks for the contest.
Up Next: Softball is back in action Feb. 10 against St. Thomas at 4 p.m.
