ST. CLOUD, Fla. – Sophomore starting pitcher
Zach Hoppe tossed a gem in the opener and the Eckerd College baseball program put on the rally hats in game two to complete a doubleheader sweep against Johnson University on Saturday afternoon, 11-5 and 7-5.
The Tritons (7-3, 0-0 SSC) pounded out 16 hits in the opener and erased a one-run deficit to close out the finale at St. Cloud High School against the Suns (formerly known as Florida Christian College).
Hoppe turned in a strong six innings, including five straight scoreless frames, while striking out four and scattering three hits for his first win of the spring. He commanded the strike zone all afternoon and was backed with plenty of run support.
Senior outfielder
Lincoln Dunham was in the zone all afternoon, going a combined 7-for-8 at the plate with four runs and was also hit by a pitch in two unofficial plate appearances. He is now hitting .514 in the season, the second-best batting average in the Sunshine State Conference.
As a team, the Tritons are now hitting .341 on the season, second in the league only behind defending national champion Tampa's .346 offensive clip.
Game 1 – Eckerd 11, Johnson 5
The Tritons scored nine unanswered runs by the sixth inning and had balanced contributions up-and-down the lineup to chase JU starter Hansel Lazo.
Dunham was 5-for-6, sophomore
Rowdy Andrews scored three runs and had a pair of hits while senior
Shane Bishop and freshman
Lucas Luopa each recorded multi-hit games.
Sophomore
Matt MacMahon turned in a defensive web gem at the hot corner with a barehanded play off a bunt and drove in two runs, once on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch scenario and the other on a sacrifice fly.
A small flurry of walks in the later innings aided the Suns in getting a handful of runs back late, but senior
Conar Mahon shut the door in the ninth and recorded the final five outs of the game.
Game 2 – Eckerd 7, Johnson 5
Sophomore
Alec Gutierrez drove in the go-ahead run to break a 5-5 tie with a deep fly ball to the left-field warning track and singled in an additional run in the seventh inning.
The Tritons overcame a string of three defensive errors that helped the Suns gain a 5-4 lead after Eckerd reached starter Angel Domenech for four runs in the first two innings.
Sophomore
Carter Cashman may have saved the game from going to extra innings as he loaded up and gunned down the potential tying run at the plate as
Mike Vavasis withstood a collision at the plate to end the sixth inning with EC on top, 6-5.
In his second start of the spring, sophomore
Nick Hill was touched for one earned run and
Kyle Harding was dominant in the late innings to pick up the win in relief.
Harding scattered three hits over 3 2/3 scoreless innings in his team-leading fourth appearance of the season.
Up Next: The Tritons will return to the Turley Athletic Complex on Monday night, playing under the lights against Saint Anselm (N.H.) College with a 6 p.m. first pitch scheduled.
