Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - With one swing the bat, the night changed for the Eckerd softball team in its home opener against Colorado Christian on a chilly Wednesday evening.
Carrie Shere blasted a two-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to help the Tritons rally for a game one win, 4-2, and Eckerd later completed the sweep with an 8-3 win in the nightcap.
Shere's shot was never in question from the moment it left her bat, a line drive to straightaway center field that cleared the fence in a hurry and turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead.
Until that swing, the Tritons had trouble solving CCU pitcher Tana Feiner who bent but didn't break for nearly six innings. Eckerd (4-1-1) put runners on base in each of the first five innings but stranded seven. The team's lone run came on a solo homerun by
Janna Gaburo, the first of her career.
Dana Paul opened the sixth with a leadoff double, then moved to third on a Gaburo sacrifice bunt. Pinch-hitter
Kayla Saylor drew a walk to put runners on the corners, but Feiner again was on the verge of pitching out of a jam after retiring
Meredith McGinnis. Shere, though, finally made Feiner pay when the CCU righty grooved a fastball on the first pitch.
The two-run cushion was all Eckerd starter
Nikole Van Gennep needed, although she did get some help from her defense. After CCU had back-to-back one-out singles, it looked as if Michaela Barr had recorded the team's third straight hit when her blooper to the right side barely avoided the glove of
Brittany Martinez. However, right fielder
Emily Knox quickly fielded the ball and cut down the lead runner at third base for the second out.
Van Gennep (2-1) then finished off the complete game win, ending the game with a grounder to short. The freshman was again outstanding in the circle, allowing only four hits and walking none while striking out six.
There would be no dramatics in the second game as the Tritons scored five times in the second inning to take command early. Five different players had RBI hits in the inning.
CCU got runs back in the third and fourth innings, but Eckerd increased its lead on a Van Gennep RBI single in the fifth followed by run-scoring hits from Paul and
Chelsea Armstrong in the sixth. The Cougars pushed one more across home plate in the seventh before
Janna Gaburo closed out her first career complete game.
Gaburo (2-0) earned the win in the second game, giving up six hits and one earned run while striking out three.
Chelsea Armstrong and
Rachael Luckett both had three hits in game two.
Dana Paul had two hits in each game for a total of four on the day.
Kaycie Duncan had two hits in game one while
Emily Knox registered two hits in game two.
The Tritons return to action on Saturday, visiting Warner (Fla.) University for a 12:00 PM double-header.
