Athletes In Christ


Barnett Pitches First Perfect Game
MELBOURNE - It was a perfect day in Melbourne for the Florida Southern Moccasins. Or at least it was for their pitcher, John Connally Barnett. The sophomore out of Fort Meade High School pitched the first perfect game in team history, retiring all 27 batters he faced in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against Florida Tech. The Moccasins (25-10, 6-3) swept the doubleheader, winning 6-0 and 1-0, but the real story on Saturday was Barnett. The hard-throwing righthander was nearly untouchable, recording a career high 17 strikeouts, the third highest total in team history. It came against the same team he fanned 15 times last year. None of the ten balls put in play against him were even close to being a hit, and only four left the infield. He used a total of 114 pitches to complete the gem. Barnett went to a three-ball count seven times in Saturday's game, including once in the ninth inning before Jesse Davis hit a ground ball to second. He then came back to strike out pinch-hitter J.T. Staples and Joe Peterson for the final two outs, with the last pitch a called a strike to end the game. Barnett's first career shutout was the fifth no-hitter in team history, but only the third nine-inning no-hitter. Phil Harris, against Merrimack in 1995, and Shawn Austin against SIU-Edwardsville in 1997, had the others. His 17 strikeouts fell two short of the team record set by David Harris against Assumption in 1994. The Moccasins got Barnett all the runs he would need in the first inning. Michael Morales was hit by a pitch to start the game and Azarias Corbeil and Michael Tucker came through with back-to-back RBI doubles later in the inning. After the two-run first inning, Justin Hancock sparked the Florida Southern offense for the rest of the game. The junior third baseman gave the Mocs a 3-0 lead with an RBI single in the third inning, then doubled and scored on a base hit by Mark Furbush in the sixth to make it 4-0. Hancock closed out the scoring for Florida Southern in the seventh with a two-run single. He finished the game with three hits and three RBI. Barnett's mound opponent for the Panthers (12-28, 2-12), righthander Jed Withers, had a strong game of his own, despite allowing the six runs. The junior from Melbourne went the distance himself, striking out 12 batters to combine with Barnett for 29 strikeouts in the game, the third highest total in NCAA Division II history. Withers also held the Mocs to nine hits, ending their streak of 13 consecutive games with ten or more hits. He walked just one and only four of the runs against him were earned. In the second game, Florida Southern starter Brent Franklin had a tough act to follow, and though he didn't throw a perfect game, he did toss a three-hit shutout in the Mocs' 1-0 win. Franklin lost his bid for perfection early when he hit the Panthers' third batter of the game, Orly Tellado. He carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning before J.T. Staples dropped a two-out single into short center field for Florida Tech's first hit of the day. Franklin bounced back, however, to complete the first shutout of his career and finished the game with a career high 12 strikeouts. He pitched out of jams in both the sixth and seventh innings, leaving the potential tying run at third base in each case. The Moccasins scored their only run of game two in the second inning, and it was Hancock who provided the spark. The junior from Valrico drew a leadoff walk to start the inning, took second on a ground ball out, and scored on a hit-and-run single by Mark Furbush. That was one of just five hits for Florida Southern in the second game, two of them by Azarias Corbeil. The Moccasins will return to action next weekend with another three-game Sunshine State Conference series against Rollins College. The first game will be Friday night in Winter Park at 7:00 p.m. GAME ONE: FSC 201 001 200 - 6 9 0 FT 000 000 000 - 0 0 2 FSC-Barnett and Corbeil; FT-Withers and Thom. W-Barnett (6-2), L-Withers (3-7). 2B-Corbeil, Tucker, Hancock (FSC). T-2:16. A-125. GAME TWO: FSC 100 000 0 - 1 5 0 FT 000 000 0 - 0 3 0 FSC-Franklin and Jones; FT-Richardson and Staples. W-Franklin (5-3), L-Richardson (2-6). T-1:36. EIGHT NCAA TITLES ... Florida Southern College has won a record eight NCAA Division II National Championships. The first three coming in 1971, 1972 and 1975 under then head coach Hal Smeltzly who later served as director of athletics for FSC. The fourth and fifth NCAA titles in 1978 and 1981 were won under Joe Arnold, now a scout for the New York Yankees. The Mocs have won three national championships under the guidance of current head coach Chuck Anderson, winning in 1985, 1988 and 1995. Brett Tomko was named the ABCA National Player and Pitcher of the Year in 1995 and was the Dick Howser Award Recipent as the Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year. MOCS IN THE MAJORS ... Entering the 2000 season, FSC had four ex-players, all pitchers, in the Major Leagues: John Hudek (St. Louis Cardinals); Carlos Reyes (Philadelphia Phillies); and Brett Tomko (recently traded to the Seattle Mariners as part of the Ken Griffey deal) and Eddie Gaillard (Cincinnati Reds). 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