ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd College baseball team saw its seven-game win streak come to an end in a 6-2 loss to Flagler College on a windy
Wednesday afternoon at the Turley Athletic Complex.
The Tritons' (19-7, 7-2 SSC) seven-game run ties the program's longest win streak set in 2012 from confirmed records dating back to at least the 1991 season.
Entering the week, the Tritons were winners in 10 of their last 11 games and also moved up to No. 8 in the NCBWA Division II South Region rankings while receiving votes in the
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper national poll.
After Eckerd worked out of a bases-loaded situation with a 6-4-3 double play in the first inning, Flagler (17-14, 8-10 PBC) pushed a run across in the third on a sacrifice fly from Tyler Vanover.
The Saints scored two more runs, including the game-winning run, in the fourth inning off of singles from Sam Komel, Todd Juliano, Andrew Brodbeck and Joe Post to take a 3-0 lead.
Eckerd tabbed its first run of the game in the fifth, beginning with a single from sophomore
Matt MacMahon. He would score later in the inning on a double play.
A double into the teeth of the wind from sophomore clean-up hitter
Carter Cashman, his team-leading 10th of the spring, and a single from senior
Mike Vavasis in the sixth brought the Tritons' second run across the dish to cut Flagler's lead to 4-2.
The Saints would score one run in the fifth and two more in the eighth inning to bring their final run count to six.
Flagler's Nathaniel Abel earned the win on the mound. Abel tossed 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks and struck out two.
Senior
Richard Kowalski took the loss in his fifth start of the spring. Kowalski threw 4.2 innings and allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out three.
Brodbeck went 4-for-6 for the Saints with two runs scored and one RBI.
Vavasis and MacMahon led the Tritons' offense, going 2-for-4 with one RBI and 2-for-4 with a run scored, respectively.
Eckerd will return to play
on Friday to begin a three-game series against Lynn University, ranked ninth, 11th, and 19th, nationally by various publications. Eckerd and Lynn are both tied for second in the Sunshine State Conference standings with a 7-2 record in league play.
Friday's series opener is scheduled to begin at
6 p.m. with and live stats and video available on
www.EckerdTritons.com.
