Tritons Deliver in Final At-Bats, Win Twice at NFCA Leadoff Classic

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Eckerd softball team saw its offense deliver in a pair of clutch situations, scoring in the final innings of both games in Saturday wins at the NFCA Leadoff Classic at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex.

Chelsea Armstrong's RBI single in the top of the seventh gave Eckerd a 2-1 win over Georgia College in the opening game of the day, and Amber Schaad's walk-off single in the ninth inning completed a 4-3 upset of No. 24 California (Pa.) in the second game. 

Twice, Armstrong came up big at the plate in the opener bringing in the game's first run in the top of the first inning and later driving home the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh.

Armstrong's RBI single in the first came after Rachael Luckett and Carrie Shere drew walks and executed a double-steal to move into scoring position.

In the seventh, Armstrong again drove in Luckett with a clutch two-out single to break a 1-1 tie.

Georgia College (3-3) tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on a single by Amber Coy.  However, she got caught in a rundown trying to advance on the throw home and was cut down to end the team's chances at taking the lead.

The Bobcats threatened in the bottom of the seventh after getting a one-out single, but Nikole Van Gennep stranded the runner by retiring the next two hitters.

Van Gennep picked up the win, holding the Bobcats to just three hits while working around six walks in a narrow strike zone. 

The Tritons (5-5) then won a thriller in the afternoon, seeing the 24th-ranked Vulcans tie the game in the bottom of the seventh on a two-strike, two-out single only to come up with a timely hit of their own in the ninth when Amber Schaad drove in Dana Paul for the winning run.

The run in the seventh by California sent the game into extra innings and enacted the international tiebreaker rule.  Both teams scored a run in the eighth, with Armstrong keeping the Tritons alive via a two-out RBI single.

Van Gennep stranded two in the top of the ninth, and Schaad wasted little time in bringing in Paul from third after she advanced on a wild pitch.

CUP scored in the top of the first on a two-out single by Paige Wilson off of EC starter Grace Willeck, but Van Gennep held the Vulcans scoreless over the next five innings.

The Tritons took the lead in the fourth with two runs.  Kayelee Newstrom, pinch-running for Paul, tied the game when she scored on a wild pitch before Crystal Garcia singled in Schaad.

Armstrong had two hits in each game, extending her streak of reaching base safely to 10 games.  Luckett and Emily Knox had two hits in the first game while Garcia and Schaad recorded two in the second game.

Van Gennep (3-4) earned her second win of the day, tossing eight innings of relief allowing only four hits.

The Tritons wrap up the weekend tomorrow morning, taking on No. 10 Wayne State (Mich.) at 9:00 AM.