Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Cedarville (Ohio) University Yellow Jackets' latest stop during their spring break trip was a visit to the Turley Athletic Complex to challenge the Eckerd Tritons in a midweek game that turned into a pitching duel.
Eckerd (7-7) allowed just four hits on the night and came away with a 3-1 victory.
CU (2-2) struck early with a two-out RBI double that was hit down the right field line in the first inning off
Kevin Plant (2-0). However, that would be all the scoring for the Yellow Jackets as EC's defense buckled down the rest of the way.
The second inning was a big inning as
Matt MacMahon got behind 0-2 with two outs and nobody on base, but he worked his way deep into the count before singling through the right side. On his first pitch of the night,
Jake O'Rourke followed with a single up the middle. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third before
Jake Romine loaded the bases on a walk after fouling off the first two pitches. A
Garrett Hiott walk tied the game at 1-1, but Nate Robinson (0-1) escaped the inning with minimal damage and stranded three Tritons.
Mitchell Calandra gave Eckerd the lead in the third inning as he rocketed a double over the left fielder's head and scored
Nick Hill from second.
Both teams' offenses were muffled until the bottom of the eighth inning as neither team could manage another run until O'Rourke recorded an RBI single to left field, scoring
Carter Cashman who led the inning off with a single of his own.
Plant was credited with the win with four innings pitched allowing three hits, one run, and a walk. He was also responsible for six of the Tritons' nine team strikeouts on the night.
Nick Alonzo allowed the only other hit by Cedarville in the seventh inning as
Gardner Nutter,
Jack Silberman, and
Jack Mahan also contributed on the mound. Mahan earned his first save of his career.
Eckerd returns to action this weekend with a three game series against Sunshine State Conference rival Rollins. Game one of the series is scheduled for 6:00 PM on Friday while a doubleheader is set for Saturday at 1:00 PM. All three games will be played at the Turley Athletic Complex.
