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Box Score 2 LAKELAND, Fla. – After taking game one on Friday, the Eckerd College baseball team forced a split in the double header against Florida Southern on Saturday falling in game one, 5-1, before taking game two, 14-11.
The Mocs jumped on the board first putting up the first run of the ball game in the bottom of the second. FSC tacked on two more in the third inning on a fielder's choice and solo home run. The Tritons garnered four hits during the first eight innings, but could not get a run across.
Florida Southern made it a 5-0 game in the bottom of the eighth. Eckerd was able to avoid the shutout by bringing around a run in the ninth.
Zach Mitsmenn singled to leadoff the inning and came in to score off the bat of
Carter Cashman.
Jimmy Gutowski was the starter for EC in game one and went 7.2 innings giving up three earned runs while striking out three in a losing effort.
Game two had the Tritons scoring first in the top of the second. Base hits by
Grant Banko and
James Petika set the stage for
Rowdy Andrews who unloaded for a three run homer. Banko came back up to the plate in the third and lined an RBI single into right field to plate
Lorenzo Vazquez. FSC managed their first run in the bottom half of the same inning making it a 4-1 lead for EC.
Vazquez started off the fifth with a double to left and promptly stole third base. Petika sent a deep fly ball to centerfield which allowed Vazquez to score. The Mocs were not going away quietly scoring four runs on three hits making it a 5-5 game.
The Eckerd offense busted out the bats in the seventh inning with RBI's from Banko, O'Rourke, Mitsmenn, and
Lucas Luopa. Cashman put the exclamation point on the inning with a two run blast over the left field wall for his second home run in as many days. The scoring continued in the eighth when
Nick Hill scored on a triple by Banko who ended up 3 for 3 in the game. Petika brought in the final run of the game with his second sac fly bringing the score to 14-5.
Florida Southern tried to hit their way back into the game in the ninth sending six runners home, but fell short with the Tritons taking the game and essentially the series, 14-11.
Kevin Plant got the start in game two, but did not factor into the final decision.
Taylor Owens moved his season record to 2-1 after earning the victory against the Mocs.
Luopa collected five hits on the day while stealing his 18
th base of the season. Cashman now has six home runs under his belt and is hitting .318. Banko and Andrews combined for five hits, five runs scored and six RBI's in game two alone.
The win was not just an ordinary win for head coach,
Juan Ranero. The victory marked the 500
th of his illustrious coaching career. "It is an amazing accomplishment for all of my players past and present," said Ranero. "These guys this weekend played their hearts out for me and I appreciate it so much. It really means a lot for everyone I have been involved with in baseball to get to a milestone like this."
Eckerd (18-24, 6-13) will head to Lake Wales on Tuesday to take on Warner University in a single game affair. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 pm.
