Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 LAKELAND, Fla. - A split second was all that stood between
Nikole Van Gennep and a no-hitter today.
Instead, the freshman settled for a one-hitter and her fourth shutout of the season, helping the Eckerd softball team split a double-header at Southeastern (Fla.), winning 2-0 before falling 11-3 in five innings in the finale.
The only hit Van Gennep (14-8) allowed in the opener was an infield single that Annie Weaver barely legged out to start the fifth inning. It was also the last baserunner in the game for the Fire as Van Gennep retired the next nine hitters to close the game.
Southeastern (26-10) got an impressive performance of its own in the circle by Lindsie Scholwinski, who struck out 12 batters and kept the Tritons scoreless through six innings.
However, Eckerd finally broke through in the seventh.
Pinch-hitter
Emily Knox started things off by putting pressure on the defense with a well-placed bunt that was thrown away, allowing her to reach base. After moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by
Chelsea Armstrong, Knox again caused the Fire to make a defensive mistake as she swiped third and drew a bad throw from SEU catcher Brandee Pietrzak. As the ball went into the outfield, Knox went home to break the scoreless tie.
The Tritons (23-13-1) added another run in the inning on a two-out RBI single from
Kaycie Duncan to drive in
Dana Paul.
Although Eckerd got off to a good start in the back end of the double-header with three runs in the first inning, Southeastern found a groove at the plate on its way to a split with a run-rule victory thanks to a five-run fifth inning.
EC took advantage of control issues by Fire starter Cat Maldanado and a pair of errors to take the early lead. Duncan and
Carrie Shere both scored as the result of errors by SEU before Paul drove in the final run of the inning with a single to left.
Janna Gaburo (6-5) took the loss in the second game in relief of
Grace Willeck, allowing eight runs on nine hits.
The Tritons return to the field this weekend hosting Barry University in a three-game conference series. The first game is on Friday at 7:00 PM.
