BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Eckerd College softball program overcame a Friday-night setback and powered past Lynn University to claim a doubleheader sweep on Saturday, winning game one by a score of 5-3 and prevailing in a high-scoring affair to end the afternoon, 14-11.
Sophomore
Kara Oberer slugged a grand slam in game two as the Tritons (16-15, 5-7 SSC) climbed to a game over the .500 mark against the Fighting Knights (18-18, 2-10 SSC).
Junior
Amber Hay was a combined 6-for-10 at the plate and also homered while Oberer and senior
Chelsea Jeffares combined for four hits apiece spanning both games.
Hay and junior
Erin Dixson each pitched their way to respective wins in the circle, marking their sixth and 10th victories of the spring season.
Game 1 – Eckerd 5, Lynn 3
After being one-hit by Lynn starter Kasey Murray last night, the Tritons jumped over the Fighting Knights' No. 1 pitcher with a four-run first frame.
Murray recorded just two outs this time around before being pulled as the Tritons had RBI's from freshman
Alex Barone and junior
Brittany Mitchell. A pair of Lynn errors also resulted in a couple of runs after Jeffares led off the opening inning with a double.
Hay drilled a solo shot, her first of the spring, on the first pitch to lead off the top half of the sixth inning.
The Fighting Knights mustered a pair of runs in their half of the sixth, including a solo home run by Devin Kochergen, but the Tritons held strong defensively.
Hay tossed 6 2/3 innings and struck out four while yielding three runs on four hits.
Dixson would record the final out of the game, getting Murray to ground out in a save situation that left the tying runs on base.
Game 2 – Eckerd 14, Lynn 11
The Tritons and Fighting Knights combined for 14 runs in the first three innings of play as the bats came alive from both sides.
Oberer highlighted the four-run second inning as she unloaded the bases with one swing, her team-leading fourth home run of the spring that gave the Tritons a 7-2 lead at the time.
Eckerd pounded out 16 hits against the combination of three different Lynn pitchers.
Jeffares was 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored at the top of the order, Hay enjoyed a 4-for-6 effort with three RBI and three runs scored and Oberer was also 4-for-6 with five RBI and two runs scored.
The top three hitters (Jeffares, Hay, Oberer) of Eckerd's lineup did plenty of damage to the tune of an 11-for-17 combined effort at the plate with eight RBI.
Eckerd scored in every inning but one, the fifth inning, and manufactured a pair of key insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning.
Up Next: The Tritons will travel to Ave Maria to face the Gyrenes in a Wednesday doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m.
