Saint Leo Secures Series with Doubleheader Sweep Against Baseball

SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Eckerd College baseball team dropped a tough Sunshine State Conference doubleheader to Saint Leo University on Saturday afternoon by scores of 11-3 and 1-0.

The doubleheader win over the Tritons (20-13, 8-7 SSC) combined with last night's 7-4 win gave the Lions (23-12, 6-6 SSC) the series sweep.

Game 1 - Saint Leo 11, Eckerd 3

As in last night's game, Eckerd took an early lead over Saint Leo.

The Tritons strung together three singles from Chris Hanson, Matt MacMahon and Shane Bishop, a double from Lucas Luopa and a fielder's choice off the bat of Rowdy Andrews to tab three runs in the second inning.

However, a three-run home run from Cole Stancil knotted the score at three in the bottom of the inning.

The Lions pushed the winning run across in the third inning on a two-run double to take a 5-3 lead.

Saint Leo added two runs in the fourth, one in the sixth and three runs in the eighth as it scattered 17 hits.

SLU's Liam O'Sullivan allowed three runs on 13 hits and struck out eight batters while walking none.

Game 2 - Saint Leo 1, Eckerd 0

It was a pitcher's duel in the final game of the series as starter Jimmy Gutowski attempted to advance to 9-0 on the season.

Gutowski entered the night with a perfect 8-0 record and was tied with the University of West Florida's Jordan DeLorenzo for the most victories among Division II pitchers in the nation.

The Rochester, N.Y., native owned a perfect game entering the fourth inning before he surrendered a walk and a base hit, but he would not allow another hit until the seventh.

The Tritons threatened in the third inning after Luopa reached base on a throwing error and again in the sixth when Andrews led off the inning with a single, but could not push the runs across the dish.

The Lions tabbed the only run of the game as Mata led off the seventh with a hit. He would later score on a walk-off single from Stancil.

Senior Brent Krauss threw a complete game three-hitter to earn the win on the mound for the Lions.

Up Next: The Tritons will take a break from conference play on Tuesday as Clearwater Christian College travels to the Turley Athletic Complex for a single game beginning at 7 p.m.

Live stats and video will be available on www.EckerdTritons.com.