Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd softball team has won plenty of games this season with its pitching.
And while that was the case in the first of two games against Nova Southeastern on Friday night, the Tritons had to rely on their offense to complete the double-header sweep with wins of 3-1 and 12-9 at the Turley Athletic Complex.
Eckerd (17-11-1, 4-4 SSC) scored twice in the second inning of game one without recording a hit.
Nikole Van Gennep reached on an error to lead off the inning, followed by a walk drawn by
Rachael Luckett. A
Meredith McGinnis sacrifice bunt moved both into scoring position, and Van Gennep came home after another NSU error. Luckett later scored on a wild pitch to give EC a 2-0 lead.
Those runs would be more than enough for Van Gennep, although her bid for a third straight shutout was broken with two outs in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Megan Granitto.
The Tritons got the run back in the bottom of the inning when Luckett drove home
Carrie Shere from second when her grounder to the left side found its way between the shortstop and third baseman. Shere took advantage of the miscommunication, beating the throw home to make it 3-1.
Van Gennep allowed a two-out double in the seventh but stranded the runner to finish the victory.
Both teams' bats came to life in the second game. The Sharks (9-21, 1-10 SSC) jumped out to a 5-0 lead mid-way through the second inning thanks to a four-run second inning that included a two-out, three-run home run by Granitto.
Eckerd, however, answered with six runs in the bottom of the second, all of which came with two outs.
Dana Paul got things started with an RBI single on a full count ahead of a two-run single by
Kaleigh Floyd.
Kaycie Duncan followed with a run-scoring single up the middle before the Tritons loaded the bases. Luckett ripped a double into the gap in left-center field, scoring two runners, but
Carrie Shere was cut down at the plate for the final out.
The Sharks reclaimed the lead in the third, scoring two runs on a two-out single by Katie Blummer. But the Tritons again put together a two-out rally in the fourth, scoring four times in the inning to take a 10-7 lead on a two-run double by Luckett and a two-run pinch-hit single by
Stephanie Wolfrom.
Both teams scored two more times in the final three innings as NSU made things interesting in the seventh, putting the tying run at the plate before Eckerd got the final out.
Van Gennep (11-7) earned wins in both ends of the double-header, working on relief of
Janna Gaburo in game two.
Luckett had a big day at the plate including a 3-for-4 performance with four RBIs in the nightcap. Duncan, Van Gennep and
Chelsea Armstrong each had two hits in the second game.
The series will conclude on Saturday with a single game at 10:00 AM.
