Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - As has been the case with nearly every Eckerd softball game lately, both ends of Saturday's double-header with Florida Tech came down to the final innings.
The Tritons got a two-out RBI double from
Rachael Luckett in the bottom of the sixth inning of game one that lifted Eckerd to a 3-2 win to open the day, but the Panthers responded with a pair of two-out runs in the seventh inning of the finale for a 7-5 decision that split the day and took the series.
Eckerd (24-18-1, 8-10 SSC) got a strong outing in the circle from
Janna Gaburo in the front end of the double-header, allowing only four hits and one earned run in six innings of work.
EC took advantage of an error in the second inning to score the day's first run as
Carrie Shere came in from second base after a throw from Krista Patterson sailed over the head of FIT first baseman Hailey Leonard as she attempted to complete a double-play.
The Panthers (35-12, 14-4 SSC) tied it in the top of the third on a Leonard RBI single, but Eckerd answered in the fourth on a solo home run by Shere (8).
An Eckerd miscue in the fifth allowed Florida Tech to tie the game on an RBI groundout. Gaburo (7-5), though, retired six of the next seven batters she faced to keep things tied at 2-2.
Errors again played a factor in the bottom of the sixth, this time biting the Panthers. A pop-up by
Nikole Van Gennep was misplayed, setting the stage for Luckett to deliver her clutch two-out double that turned out to be the winning run.
Van Gennep worked a perfect seventh to earn her third save of the season.
After battling in a pitchers' duel on Friday night, Van Gennep and FIT's Rachel Pence had issues keeping runs off the board early in the final game of the series. The Panthers scored twice in the first, only to be answered by a two-run home run by
Kaycie Duncan (5). Â
Florida Tech got a two-run shot in the top of the second, but Duncan again delivered in the bottom of the inning with a two-run single. One batter later,
Kaleigh Floyd scored as the result of a throwing error on a double-steal.
Van Gennep appeared to be on the verge of tossing a scoreless inning in the third. With a runner on first and two outs, FIT's Emily York hit a grounder to first base. However, the ball spun sideways and slipped underneath the glove of Luckett, and aggressive baserunning resulted in the tying run crossing before York was tagged out in a rundown.
From there, Van Gennep and Pence returned to their Friday forms with each keeping the other team off the board until the seventh when the Panthers got a pair of two-out run-scoring hits.
The Tritons again threatened in the bottom of the frame, putting two runners on with two out to bring the winning run to the plate. However, Pence coaxed a grounder off the bat of Van Gennep to close out the game.
Shere went 2-for-3 in the opener while Duncan and Floyd went 2-for-4 in the finale.
The Tritons return to the field next weekend when they visit the University of Tampa for a three-game series.
