EC vs. Nova Southeastern (Game 1)
EC vs. Nova Southeastern (Game 2)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Pitchers Jordan Huchro and
Alex Menendez tamed the opposition in game one, but Nova Southeastern University scored the winning run in walkoff fashion and took two of three games in the weekend series against the Eckerd College baseball program with a split on Saturday, 3-2 and 8-9 (8 innings).
The Tritons (13-13, 2-7 SSC) had a five-run lead erased in the finale as Daniel Petitbon recorded a game-winning sacrifice fly with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning after EC clamped down defensively against the heavy-hitting Sharks (17-5, 3-2 SSC) in the opener.
Huchro turned in a gem of an outing on the mound as he began the afternoon with four scoreless innings as his teammates built a 3-0 lead in run support. He worked out of a minor jam in the first after NSU had runners in scoring position with just one out recorded.
Huchro buckled down to strike out the dangerous Petitbon (who homered yesterday) looking and induced an easy groundout to the mound to get out of trouble.
His strong start was sustained as he retired the Sharks in order in both the second and third innings. He ended up retiring eight straight hitters before giving up a two-out single in the fourth.
Senior Bryan Gibson broke open a scoreless game with an RBI double down the left-field line that scored
Joey LaRose.
LaRose came through in the next inning with a two-run single flared into right center that gave the Tritons the three-run edge as
Alex Del Monte and
Dan Capra each crossed home plate.
NSU scattered runs in the fifth and eighth innings, but Huchro finished with 7 1/3 strong innings with four strikeouts and Menendez tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings to close the deal and record his first save of the spring.
The EC offense was clicking on all cylinders to begin game two. After both teams exchanged a pair of runs in the first inning, the Tritons broke a 2-2 tie with a four-run second frame thanks to a two-run single by
David Regidor and back-to-back RBI doubles from Lee Spinelle and LaRose.
But after the Tritons had two more runs in the top of the sixth, seemingly clinching the game, the Sharks scored five unanswered runs to extend the game into extra innings.
After the Tritons were held off the scoreboard to begin the eighth, NSU put its first two runners on the basepaths and a sacrifice bunt put runners in scoring position for Petitbot's game-winning sacrifice hit.
Del Monte, Regidor and
Kevin Rea, each scored twice and the Tritons managed six hits versus the Sharks' 11.
Jake Wilder earned a no decision despite striking out five Nova Southeastern hitters in nearly six innings of work. Menendez,
Joe McLemore and
Robbie Nabers, all saw action in a relief spot.
The Tritons will look to break the .500 mark again when they return home on Monday evening for a non-conference clash against Ave Maria University. The game will get underway at 6 p.m. with live stats and live video/audio being streamed live on EckerdTritons.com.
