Box Score
LAKE WALES, Fla. – Using a combination of six different pitchers, Warner University threw enough different looks at the Eckerd College baseball program and scratched out enough runs to earn a non-conference victory on Tuesday afternoon, 2-1.
The Tritons (15-24 overall) countered with four different hurlers and outhit the Royals (25-26 overall) by a count of 11-7, but a late two-out rally in the top of the ninth inning fell just short.
Down to their final out with a pair of runners in scoring position, the Tritons placed the tying run at third base and the go-ahead run on second base. A sharp lineout tailing to right field ended the suspense and sealed the Warner victory.
Senior
Dan Capra blooped a single to opposite field right before he was pushed over to third on a double down the left-field line by
Alex Del Monte, his ninth of the spring.
Unfortunately, Eckerd lost its eighth game of the year by just a one-run margin and dropped its 15th game this season by three runs or less as frustrations continued to mount down the stretch with the latest result.
With minimal wind blowing in at Royals Field, the Tritons accounted for an improbable 14 fly outs/pop outs as opposed to just six on the ground.
Senior hurler
Alex Menendez settled down after allowing a first-inning run and tossed three straight scoreless frames in succession before he was picked up in relief by
Richard Cruz-Sanchez,
Robbie Nabers and
Joe McLemore.
Menendez struck out three and yielded five hits in his second start of the season.
WU's John McVey punched a two-out single slowly up the middle to score Ethan Lovell with the first run of the game.
The Royals also tacked on what turned out to be the decisive run in the bottom half of the sixth.
In the eighth, senior outfielder
Bryant Gibson delivered an RBI double to the deepest part of center field as part of his 3-for-4 afternoon at the dish. He also reached a bunt single pushed past the pitcher's mound.
Senior
David Regidor went 2-for-5 with a stolen base while Capra and junior Lee Spinelle also recorded a pair of singles.
Warner's Joey Hall recorded the win on the mound while Chuck Wells worked around five base hits allowed in his two innings of work from the bullpen to collect his third save of the year.
The Tritons will be on the road this weekend for their second-to-last Sunshine State Conference series against Saint Leo University. Friday night's nine-inning game will get underway at 6 p.m. and Saturday's doubleheader will start at 1 p.m.
