Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. - The Eckerd baseball team got an early look at a conference opponent as the Tritons faced Florida Southern on Tuesday in a non-conference contest.
Eckerd battled back from an early deficit, but a four-run fifth inning gave the Mocs the lead for good as Florida Southern defeated the Tritons, 12-8.
FSC (15-6) jumped on Eckerd starter
Jack Silberman early, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first capped by a two-run home run by Dominic Brugnoni. The Tritons, however, started to cut into the deficit with a run in the second inning on a
Nick Conti sacrifice fly and two more in the third after
Lucas Luopa's RBI single and
Carter Cashman's RBI groundout. EC then tied it in the top of the fourth thanks to
Matt MacMahon's RBI grounder
The Mocs retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a run, but Eckerd responded with three runs in the top of the fifth. Luopa led off the inning with a solo home run, his first of the season, and Conti followed with his second sacrifice fly of the game. An error by FSC allowed a third run to score, giving the Tritons a 7-5 lead.
However, Florida Southern used the long ball to answer with four runs in the bottom of the inning, all coming with two outs. On a 1-2 count, Sam Machonis connected with a three-run home run to put SC back on top, and Mitch Reeves followed with a solo shot to make it 9-7.
The Mocs tacked on three more runs over the next two innings. Eckerd got an RBI groundout from Luopa to plate a run in the eighth, but didn't threaten in the ninth as Craig Savage retired the side.
Offense wasn't an issue for the Tritons, who had 13 hits on the day.
Mitchell Calandra led the way with a 3-for-5 outing at the plate while Luopa,
Tom Buonopane,
Nick Hill and
Jake O'Rourke all had two hits. Hill's first hit, a double to lead off the third, extended his hitting streak to 11 games. Luopa led the team's run production with three RBIs.
Kevin Plant (2-1) took the loss after allowing the go-ahead home run in the fifth. Eckerd used seven pitchers in the game and got an outstanding performance from
Jack Mahan in relief, striking out all four batters he faced.
The Tritons return to action this weekend at the Turley Athletic Complex, hosting the University of Bridgeport (Conn.) on Friday and Saturday at 6:00 PM.
