Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd College baseball team pounded out a total of 15 hits to take a non-conference game over Warner University, 14-10,
on Tuesday afternoon at the Turley Athletic Complex.
The Royals (4-3, 2-1 TSC) and the Tritons (3-2, 0-0 SSC) met for the first time this season after the original doubleheader was rained out and another makeup game was postponed due to fog last Monday night.
Eckerd and Warner combined for 35 hits on the day, including six extra-base hits.
In the top of the first, Justin Burgess set the tone for the day with a leadoff single through the right side. Anthony Davole scored the run in Burgess with a two-out double to right-centerfield to put the Royals' first run on the board.
Eckerd answered with four runs of its own in the bottom of the inning, starting with leadoff hitter
Rowdy Andrews getting hit by a pitch -- the fourth time Andrews has been hit by a pitch this season -- and advancing to second base on a wild pitch.
Lincoln Dunham and
Chris Hanson followed with back-to-back singles to score the Tritons' first two runs.
WU starting pitcher Cole Wheelis went on to retire one out before giving up another single to
Carter Cashman, walking two and hitting another Eckerd batter to surrender the final two runs of the inning.
The Royals and Tritons both added runs in the second and third innings to bring the score to 6-4 with Eckerd in the lead.
In the fourth, Eckerd padded its lead with two more runs on a one-out solo blast from senior
Mike Vavasis for his first home run of the year. Later in the inning, another run crossed the plate on an error at the shortstop position
Warner added five runs in the fifth inning on six hits to take a 9-8 lead as EC starting pitcher
Richard Cruz-Sanchez was spelled by junior transfer
Jimmy Gutowski.
However, Eckerd tied the game at 9-9 in the bottom of the inning and took its final lead of the afternoon in the bottom of the sixth.
Freshman
Lucas Luopa reached base in the sixth on a fielder's choice off of reliever Jimmy Diven and advanced to second on a wild pitch. MacMahon followed with a walk and junior
James Petika belted a triple to deep center to score two runs.
Petika then scored on a sharp single to center from Andrews to cap the scoring.
Andrews, Hanson and Vavasis, all collected three hits in the win, while Warner's Jordan Pike went 5-for-5 with one RBI and three runs scored.
Gutowski earned his second win on the season, this time in a relief role. He struck out four in five innings pitched while shutting down the top of the ninth with just four total pitches.
Cruz-Sanchez and Gutowski combined for nine strikeouts while the Warner pitching staff did not record a strikeout against an EC hitter.
Eckerd is set to resume the spring season next
Wednesday, Feb. 19, at home against Ave Maria University at
6 p.m. EST.
Live stats and video will be available for the game on
www.EckerdTritons.com.
