Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Hunter McCarthy snapped a 2-2 tie with a solo home run and Ave Maria University spoiled a successful starting bid by sophomore
Richard Cruz-Sanchez to defeat the Eckerd College baseball program on Monday night, 8-2.
McCarthy took the first pitch he saw to lead off the fifth inning and deposited a solo home run over the right field fence for the go-ahead and eventual winning score. The Gyrenes (17-23 overall) poured it on with four more runs in the top of the eighth inning and added one more in the ninth.
The Tritons (13-14 overall) were led by
Kevin Rea's three singles and extra-base hits in the form of doubles by
Alex Del Monte and
Bryant Gibson.
Ave Maria evened up the season series at one game apiece after Eckerd was on the winning end of a 14-0 rout on Feb. 20.
After Cruz-Sanchez was tagged for two runs in the first inning, he buckled down and retired nine straight hitters, including perfect second and third frames to keep the Ave Maria bats in check. He worked three consecutive scoreless innings before McCarthy's leadoff homer in the fifth.
In his sixth appearance and first start of the season, Cruz-Sanchez struck out four and scattered seven hits in five innings of work.
AMU's Patrick Collins-Bride roped a double to begin the game on the very first pitch and was plated on an RBI double by Gabe Loweree three batters later.
By the end of an unusual first inning, two batters had been called out on interference and a balk resulted in Eckerd's first tally on the scoreboard.
The Tritons tied things up at 2-2 in the third inning after an RBI groundout by
David Regidor allowed Del Monte to score.
Within striking distance begin the top half of the eighth, the inning unraveled after two errors and a wild pitch set the table for four runs to score on just two hits. The final one, an overrun ball in left field, prompted
Matt Ramsey and Kevin Plant to finish the inning in relief of
Henry Langs.
Langs was cruising after throwing scoreless sixth and seventh innings, but ran into trouble in the eighth after allowing the first two batters to reach on a single and hit by pitch.
EC's Rea was a tough out all night and used all parts of the field in a 3-for-4 effort at the plate. His first hit was legged out on a tough hop to the second baseman Loweree, his second base knock was a sharp liner up the middle and he pounded a single through left side of the infield.
The Gyrenes' Keith Ryan threw four scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the winning decision while Zach Quayle shut the door by hurling two scoreless frames to end it.
The Tritons are back in Sunshine State Conference action this weekend traveling to Melbourne for a three-game road series against Florida Tech. EC and the Panthers will play a nine-inning affair on Friday at 6 p.m. before getting a doubleheader underway on Saturday at noon.
