Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd baseball team took game one of a two-game series against University of Bridgeport (Conn.) on Friday night, 10-6.
The Tritons'Â bats stayed consistently alive throughout the game, ending the night with 15 hits.
The game's true turning point came in the bottom of the eighth inning. Entering the home half of the eighth tied 6-6, Eckerd loaded the bases with two outs after single by
Lucas Luopa, a walk issued to
Matt MacMahon and hit-by-pitch from
Daniel Autiello.
Carter Cashman's two-run single to center field gave the Tritons the lead, and
Garrett Hiott followed with a two-run double to put the Tritons (9-10) ahead by four runs heading into the ninth.
Jack Mahan (2-0) took care of the rest in the ninth inning, issuing only a two-out walk but leaving the runner stranded as he earned the win in relief of
Dillon McCollough, who pitched a solid five innings. The freshman allowed three runs on three hits while striking out eight.
After trailing going into the bottom of the fifth inning, the Tritons' bats started to come alive. After
Mitchell Calandra reaching on a throwing error,
Nick Hill blasted a two-run home run over the left-center wall to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.
O'Rourke followed after with a double down the right field line and later scored on a
Lucas Luopa sacrifice fly. MacMahon kept the inning going with a double down the left field line before crossing the plate on a single by
Carter Cashman.
Bridgeport, however, kept knocking at the door against Mahan, scoring three runs in the sixth and seventh innings combined to tie the game at 6-6 before the Tritons came through with the big inning in the eighth.
Luopa had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and pair of RBIs. MacMahon also had a stellar night, going 2-for-3 with double and two runs scored. Autiello went 2-for-3 while Cashman went 2-for-4.
The weekend series concludes tomorrow with a single nine-inning game with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 PM.
