ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd baseball squad sets itself for the final series of the 2016 season as the Tritons travel to Melbourne for a trio of Sunshine State Conference contests against the Florida Tech Panthers.
GAMES 43-45: Eckerd (16-26, 4-17 SSC) at Florida Tech (27-20, 9-12 SSC)
Friday, 6:00 PM / Saturday, 12:00 PM (DH)
COVERAGE: Watch |
Stats
PROBABLE STARTERS: Jack Silberman (0-7, 8.19 ERA) | Mike Eagan (3-0, 7.76 ERA) | Alex Moore (2-4, 4.77 ERA)
LAST TIME OUT: The second-ranked Spartans from Tampa spoiled senior day for the Tritons last weekend as EC fell in all three SSC contests. However, the Tritons nearly forced extra innings during the first game of Saturday's double header.
Alex Moore, the probable starter for this weekend's finale, threw a season-high 7.2 innings in that contest and allowed just one earned run while striking out five batters.
HOT STREAKS: Senior
Grant Banko enters his final series with an 18-game on-base streak and looks to extend it to 20 before graduation. Meanwhile, freshman Mitch Calandra could join Banko and
Nick Hill this season in double figures if he manages to get a base hit in each of the three contests as he enters the week on a seven-game hitting streak.
SENIOR STARTERS: After using a young weekend rotation for much of the season, the Tritons are scheduled to send two seniors out to the mound in the first two games of the series.
Mike Eagan will make his first start of the season after 18 relief appearances. The St. Louis, Missouri, product has fanned 24 hitters in 26.2 innings.
Jack Silberman, a weekend starter last season and at the start of this season, will get the ball to open the series on Friday night.
LAST MEETING: Last season, the Tritons and Panthers met just once after the double-header date was rained out on back-to-back nights, and FIT took the lone contest 4-2 at the Turley Athletic Complex.
