Box Score WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Palm Beach Atlantic scored twice in the sixth inning, holding on to defeat the Eckerd softball team in the series opener on Friday night, 2-1.
PBA (6-7) loaded the bases in the sixth with one out against Eckerd starter
Nikole Van Gennep, tied the game on a fielder's choice and scored the go-ahead run on a single by Victoria Gonzalez.
Eckerd (9-3-1) had a chance to tie the game in the seventh inning after
Kaleigh Floyd led off the inning with a single and stole second with one out, but was stranded as PBA starter Rachel Hill retired the next two hitters to leave Floyd in scoring position.
The Tritons struck first on a two-out RBI double by
Chelsea Armstrong in the top of the third, but were held scoreless by Hill (2-4) for the rest of the game. EC did threaten to add to its lead in the fourth with runners on second and third with one out, but Hill worked out of the jam.
Van Gennep (5-3), meanwhile, retired the first 13 batters she faced before Gonzalez broke up the bid for a perfect game in the fifth inning. She stranded two in the fifth before the Sailfish finally got to her in the sixth.
The Tritons had six hits on the night compared to five for Palm Beach Atlantic. Van Gennep went 2-for-3 while Armstrong, Floyd,
Rachael Luckett and
Emily Knox each had one.
The series concludes with a double-header on Saturday beginning at 12:00 PM.
