Tritons Fall to No. 2 Tampa to Open Final Home Series

Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd baseball team took an early lead against the No. 2 University of Tampa, but the Spartans' offense proved to be too much on Friday night in the opening game of a weekend series at the Turley Athletic Complex as the defending national champions handed EC a 14-4 loss.

The Tritons put together a four-run second inning, erasing a three-run deficit to take a 4-3 lead at the end of the second, but the Spartan duo of Christopher Williams and Jimmy Hodgskin kept EC off the board for the rest of the game.

After Mitchell Calandra reached on an error to start the inning, Nick Conti followed with a double into the left-center gap.  Jake O'Rourke then drove both home with a single down the left field line.  Carter Cashman reached on a bunt single and Daniel Autiello tied the game with an RBI single.  Garrett Hiott finished off the scoring with an RBI groundout that brought in Cashman to give Eckerd the lead.

The lead was short-lived, though, as Tampa (37-7, 16-3 SSC) tied the game with a run in the third, took the lead with a three-run fourth and blew the game open with a five-run sixth.  Six of the Spartans' 18 hits on the day came in the sixth inning.

The Tritons (16-24, 4-15 SSC) had a chance to cut into the deficit in the seventh inning after loading the bases with one out, but Williams put an exclamation point on his ninth win of the season by striking out the next two hitters to strand three.

Jack Silberman (0-6) took the loss for Eckerd, allowing four runs in three innings of work while striking out three.  All four of UT's runs against Silberman came with two outs.

EC did collect 10 hits in the game, led by Conti and Autiello with two each.

Before the game, longtime Eckerd head coach and current assistant athletic director Bill Mathews was honored with the unveiling of a banner in right field displaying his No. 29, which was retired last year.

The series concludes on Saturday with a double-header beginning at 1:00 PM.  The program's 11 seniors will be recognized before the first game.