ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd Tritons (19-21, 2-11 SSC) scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth but it was not enough to overcome the Nova Southeastern Sharks (29-10, 5-8 SSC), falling by a score of 12-9 on Thursday evening at the Turley Athletic Complex.
Trailing 12-4 going into the bottom of the ninth, Eckerd turned a rout into a rally beginning with a walk to
Chris Clinton. After a strikeout wild pitch allowed Clinton to score,
Dan Branca hit a two-run homer to make it 12-7.
Then, after a single by
Mike Alvarez,
Chris Blydell hit a pinch-hit two-run tater to make it 12-9.
NSU's Zachary North, the second pitcher used by the Sharks in the inning, recovered, however, and recorded the final two outs of the inning to kill the Eckerd rally.
Shark starter Michael Fiers, the NCAA Division II leader in strikeouts, earned the win for Eckerd after going seven complete innings while allowing one run on eight hits and striking out 11 Tritons. Eckerd starter
Philip Weylie took the loss.
Eckerd will return to the diamond on Friday as they host NSU in SSC doubleheader action beginning at 1pm.
