Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - As the Eckerd baseball team heads into a rare off weekend, it will do so on a high note as the Tritons knocked off Warner (Fla.), 9-5, on Tuesday night at the Turley Athletic Complex.
Eckerd (5-4) wasted no time in jumping on Warner starter Jose Hernandez, stringing together four straight singles in the first inning leading to three runs.
Carter Cashman and
Rowdy Andrews both had RBI singles and
Nick Conti added a sacrifice fly to build an early lead.
The Royals got two runs back in the top of the second on a two-out single by Randy Rodriguez, but EC starter
Kevin Plant maintained the lead after striking out Junior Fermin to end the inning.
From there, the Triton bullpen did an outstanding job in keeping Warner off the board for the next five innings as
Kevin Kane and
Mike Eagan both tossed two scoreless frames while
Joey Favetta worked a scoreless seventh.
Eckerd's bats remained quiet as well until the fifth inning when
Nick Hill and
Carter Cashman reached base ahead of Andrews, who then cleared the bases with a towering three-run blast to left field. The Tritons threatened to continue to add to their lead after a
Nick Conti walk and
Matt MacMahon double put both in scoring position with no one out, but Warner's Tristan Starling managed to strand them both.
EC struck again in the seventh inning with three more runs, again with no outs, thanks to a two-run double by
Daniel Autiello and an RBI single by
Jake Romine to make it 9-2.
Control struggles for Eckerd in the top of the eighth allowed Warner to score three runs on only one hit in the inning.
Kelsey Lunde loaded the bases after a single and back-to-back walks, and a series of wild pitches by
Taylor Owens allowed all three runs to score. Owens eventually settled down and escaped without any further damage.
Gardner Nutter worked the ninth inning, striking out the last two batters of the game to finish the win for the Tritons.
Hill, Andrews, MacMahon and
Tom Buonopane all had two hits for Eckerd while Cashman reached base safely four times with one hit and three walks. Eagan (1-0) earned the win in relief, allowing one hit over two scoreless innings while striking out four. The Eckerd pitching staff combined for 12 strikeouts in the game.
The Tritons will enjoy a rare weekend off before returning to action on Tuesday, March 1, hosting Saint Anselm (N.H.) at 6:00 PM.
