LAKELAND, Fla.—The Barry Buccaneers knocked off the Florida Southern Moccasins 9-2 in the opener of a Sunshine State Conference softball series at Barnett Field on Friday night.

The Bucs (11-8, 5-2 SSC) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Cheyanne Head tripled to right center with two outs and Dee Espinosa delivered the run with an RBI single.

The Mocs (9-14-1, 2-4-1 SSC) got the run back in the bottom of the inning. Jessica Trana was hit by a pitch from Buccaneer starter Geneva Santos (8-3) and Jordan Sheppard came on to run. Sheppard later scored on a passed ball.

In the fifth, the Bucs scored three runs to take the lead for good. Kayla Ogle had an RBI single and Megan Copeland drove her and Alayna Gallagher with a base hit.

In the sixth, Barry tacked on a pair. Santos had an RBI double and scored ahead of a single by Sam Busekrus.

After the Mocs scored in the bottom of the sixth, Espinosa put the capper on with a three-run homer, her third of the season, in the seventh.

Santos earned the win in a complete-game effort. She held the Mocs to a pair of unearned runs on four hits and three walks and struck out four. Brandi Jones (5-5) took the loss for FSC. In five innings, she allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and a walk. She struck out two.

Espinosa, Santos and Busekrus all had two hits, while Espinosa drove in four.

The series concludes on Saturday with a doubleheader at 1:00 pm.