Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A trio of home runs by Austin Aubuchon, Billy Farrell and Shae Cothran, lifted Webber International University over the Eckerd College baseball program on Wednesday night at the Turley Athletic Complex, 5-3.
Junior
Mike Vavasis hit his third home run of the spring for the Tritons (13-17 overall), who returned to their home confines after finishing a weekend series at Rollins College.
The Warriors (28-14 overall) evened up the season series after Eckerd earned a 6-5 victory in Babson Park back on Feb. 6.
The original start time of 7 p.m. had been pushed forward an hour with anticipated rain projected to hit around the 8 o'clock hour. When the final out was recorded in a quick-moving contest, heavy rains started on cue.
Eckerd attempted to rally in the bottom of the eighth inning with the tying runs on base and the go-ahead run at the plate. But WIU was able to get a strikeout looking to end the threat on a payoff pitch and set the table for closer Sean Stanislawski to earn his sixth save.
Aubuchon worked the count full before skying a three-run shot, his third of the spring, with two outs in the first inning while Cothran and Farrell each hit solo homers later.
The Warriors took a 4-0 lead when Cothran went deep to begin the second inning, a long fly ball that carried over the 365-foot sign in right center.
Vavasis gave the Tritons a run back with a deep home run to left to get EC's part of the second inning started.
EC scored again in the fourth, taking advantage of a bases-loaded situation as freshman
Adam Moreau hit a sacrifice fly to make it a 4-2 game.
Junior
Lincoln Dunham drew a walk of lead off the bottom of the fifth. After he was moved over a station on a sacrifice bunt by junior
Shane Bishop, junior
Chris Hanson brought him home with a sharp single to center that made it a 4-3 score.
Farrell accounted for the final run on the scoreboard with his home run in the seventh.
Webber International went with an approach by committee on the mound, exhausting a total of seven arms in its bullpen as starter Cody Palmquist improved to 4-1 on the mound.
The Tritons received four scoreless innings from sophomore
Kyle Harding and other scoreless appearances by freshman
Andrew Pierson, sophomore
Kevin Plant and freshman
Jared Habershaw, following the start by sophomore
David Horsfield.
Both teams had nine hits apiece on the night.
Next up for the Tritons is a road trip to Lynn University beginning on Friday afternoon in Boca Raton with a 3 p.m. scheduled start to the series. Saturday's doubleheader against the Fighting Knights will start at noon.
