Conti's Homers Lift Eckerd to Split with Lynn

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Nick Conti came through in the clutch not once, but twice in Eckerd baseball's opening game on Saturday as the Tritons split a double-header with Lynn University.

Conti first sent the game into extra innings with a leadoff solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, then won the game for the Tritons with a two-out, three-run shot in the 10th to give Eckerd a 10-8 walkoff win.

The nightcap didn't go as smoothly as the Fighting Knights took the series with a 17-5 win.

Eckerd (15-20, 3-12 SSC) jumped on top early in the opener with a three-run first aided by a pair of Lynn errors.  After the Knights scored two in the second, Justin Glover's RBI double in the third gave EC a 4-2 lead.

Two home runs by Lynn in the fifth briefly gave the visitors the lead, only to see the Tritons retake control in the bottom of the frame.  Mitchell Calandra doubled to open the inning and came around to score on an error before Matt MacMahon drove home Zach Mitsmenn with an RBI single.

The Knights edged back ahead in the eighth with two runs, taking a 7-6 lead into the ninth to set the stage for Conti's first home run that tied things up.

Lynn again retook the lead in the 10th on a two-out solo home run by John Silviano, but he was upstaged again by Conti in the bottom of the inning with his opposite-field blast.

Zach Hoppe (1-0) earned the win in relief, allowing one run in two innings.

In the finale, Lynn built a big lead in the middle innings by scoring three times in the third, fourth and sixth frames before blowing the game open in the eighth with seven more runs.

Eckerd answered an LU run in the first inning on a Jake O'Rourke solo blast and added an RBI double by MacMahon in the third.  However, Lynn starter Donovan Armas managed to keep the Tritons in check over the next three innings while getting six more runs of support.

The Tritons did rally in the seventh, scoring three times to make the score 10-5 but the Knights put the game out of reach with a seven-run eighth.

Dillon McCollough (4-3) took the loss in the nightcap, allowing seven runs on eight hits over four innings.

Grant Banko extended his hitting streak to nine games with a pair of hits in the opener but saw it come to an end in the finale.  Conti and Glover both had three hits in the opener while Calandra joined Banko with two.  Carter Cashman went 3-for-4 in the second game with O'Rourke adding two hits.

The Tritons return to the field on Tuesday hosting Keiser (Fla.) University at 6:00 PM.