The UNA baseball team was swept during a three-game series against Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla., Feb. 15 and 16.

The Lions suffered their first loss of the season during game one, falling 6-1 to the Moccasins.

The 3-0 lead taken in the first two innings by FSC left UNA scrambling to recover.

The lone run for the Lions came in the third inning, following a two-out rally. The Mocs walked catcher Thomas Lundborg, while outfielder Josh Doyle followed with a single. Eric Wilson then hit a single that drove Lundborg home.

Despite UNA’s efforts, FSC starter Clay Chapman struck out Bradley Noland with runners on second and third.

The Lions had only five hits the entire game, while FSC scored six runs on 10 hits.

UNA starter Chad Boughner pitched five innings, giving up three runs on three hits and walking four. He struck out eight players before relief pitcher Jacob Westerhouse started in the sixth, lasting only a third of the inning before allowing three runs on three hits. Sophomore Brantley Claunch pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, while Drew Mobley rounded out the game with a scoreless eighth.

During Saturday’s doubleheader, UNA brought in a total of eight runs. FSC used the first innings of both games to gain a lead on UNA that resulted in a 7-4 loss during the first game and a 8-4 loss during the second.

UNA starter Michael Watkins gave up three runs on three hits during Saturday’s first game and FSC catcher Brad Carlton later hit a two-run homerun.

After tying the game 4-4 in the top of the fifth, UNA allowed two runs in the bottom of the fifth and one more in the seventh for FSC’s 7-4 win.

Making his first start for the Lions, junior Cade Medley pitched the first 5 1/3 innings of the second part of the doubleheader. He gave up seven runs on eight hits before Claunch came in for relief and allowed one run on three hits.

The Lions fell to FSC 8-4, despite one two-run home run from Dylan Boston and two single home runs from Andrew Almon and Josh Cyr.

“The downside of playing a good team (like FSC) is there’s a lot of room for error,” said Mike Keehn, head coach. “But once our pitchers got into it, there was potential.”

One of the bigger problems during the weekend series was with hitting, Keehn said.

“There wasn’t any room for big hits,” he said. “We couldn’t hold leads. And after they scored, we didn’t continue to score. If they score, we have to score, too.“We need to be a little more refined; I think this was a little bit of a wake-up call. You can’t just throw things over the plate and get people out.”

Overall, the catchers played well and the team played well defensively, Keehn said.

Looking to this weekend, though, he said the Lions will approach the series like they do with any game.

“We’re going to continue quality pitching, good defense and improving our game,” he said. “We need to continue to work on the execution part of the game.”

Keehn said he will also be trying to determine a line-up still.

“We’re still moving things around,” he said. “You’ll see some of the same players, but in different orders.”

The Lions will take on Kentucky State University at home during a three-game series this weekend. Games one and two will be played as part of a doubleheader, beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday, while game three will start at 1 p.m. on Sunday.