LEESBURG, Fla. (Softball) – Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) softball opened Sun-Lakes Conference play on with a three-game series on Friday and Saturday against South Florida State College (SFSC).

Day one of the series took place at SFSC on Friday where they played just one game. On Saturday, they played a double header for the series conclusion at The Hawks Nest.

The Lakehawks took one out of three from SFSC.

Game One – Lake-Sumter 3, SFSC 4

Lake-Sumter and SFSC opened conference play in Avon Park, Fla. with a single game on Friday afternoon.

The Lakehawks took a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the second after Alexis Adams blasted a solo homerun off the Panthers' scoreboard in centerfield.

SFSC answered back taking 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning.

The Panthers held the lead until the top of the sixth when Megan Wright and Alex Baez hit back-to-back doubles with runners in scoring position to tie the game up at 3-3.

South Florida answered back with a solo homerun in the bottom of the sixth taking the lead back 4-3.

In their last at bat, the Lakeahawks put runners on base, but a Panthers pitching change put the offense off balance just enough to keep the lead.

Baez went 3-for-3 with one RBI. Wright and Adams also had two hits each, both with recording RBIs.

Kaitlyn Duquette recorded the loss on the mound moving to 3-4 on the season. She allowed four runs, two earned, on five hits with four strikeouts.

Game Two – Lake-Sumter 3, SFSC 2

The Lakehawks found a win in game two, game one of Saturday's double header.

Macie Bourgholtzer led off the bottom of the first with a walk and advanced to second on a ground ball from Savannah Ellis.

With two outs, Adams stepped up with a single up the middle to score Bourgholtzer from second giving the Lakehawks a 1-0 lead.

With four base hits in the top of the second inning, the Panthers took a 2-1 lead. The score remained until the fifth.

Kaleigh Thomas hit a double off the centerfield fence to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning. Payton Parkes reached on a single, advancing Thomas to third for Baez.

Baez hit a hard ground ball to short, scoring Thomas on an error.

Lake-Sumter took game two over SFSC 3-2.  

Wright and Parkes recorded two hits each. Adams went 1-for-4 with an RBI.  

Ellis recorded the complete-game win improving to 5-0 on the mound. She allowed just two runs one seven hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

Game Three – Lake-Sumter 10, SFSC 13

The final game of the series was back-and-fourth battle, ending in favor of the Panthers.

With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Emma Chisholm started a short Lakehawk rally with a single to left field.

Adams followed with a standup triple off the right field fence to score Chisholm. Wright scored Adams from third with a double to left to take a 2-0 lead.  

The Panthers had a huge second inning, scoring six runs on five hits.

Ellis had a solo homerun in the bottom of the fourth inning, followed by a three-run homerun from Parkes in the fifth.

The Lakehawks chipped away at the Panther lead, but it was never enough to fully comeback from the deficit. South Florida kept extending their lead, scoring eight more runs across the final four innings.

SFSC clinched the series with a 13-10 game three win, taking two out of three from Lake-Sumter.

Adams, Ellis, and Parkes recorded three hits each, homeruns being one of their three hits.

Starting pitcher Elizabeth Auciello recorded the loss on the mound with 1.1 innings pitched. She allowed five runs on five hits with one walk.

With one win, the Lakehawks improved to 8-13 overall, 1-2 in conference. Three games into Sun-Lakes Conference play, Lake-Sumter ranks tied for fourth in standings.

In the regular season, the Lakehawks will play each Sun-Lakes Conference opponent for two three-game series for a total of six games for post-season consideration. Lake-Sumter and SFSC will meet again on Friday, Mar. 29 and Saturday, Mar. 30 for their second three-game series.

Up next for the Lakehawks

Lakehawk Softball will host non-conference opponent East Georgia State College on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. Livestream video will be available to those who cannot attend.

Follow @LakehawkSports on Twitter, @LakehawkSports on Instagram and Lake-Sumter State College Athletics on Facebook for the latest news with Lakehawk athletics.