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Box Score 2 KISSIMMEE, Fla. - For the third time this season, the Eckerd softball team defeated a nationally-ranked opponent on a neutral site as the Tritons knocked off No. 17 Armstrong State (Ga.) at the D9 Citrus Classic at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Crystal Garcia's two-out walk-off double in the ninth inning sealed a 4-3 win for Eckerd, improving the team's record in extra-inning games to 3-1.
The game-winning hit came after the Pirates (7-5) took the lead in the top of the inning on an RBI double by Tazha Williams. Â With the international tiebreaker rule in effect,
Carrie Shere started the bottom half of the ninth on second base and moved to third on
Kiley King's infield single.
Kayelee Newstrom then reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases with no outs, but a double-play erased Shere heading home and put ASU needing one more out to win a tight game.
Instead, Garcia ripped a double to left field driving in both the tying and go-ahead runs.
After a solo home run in the first inning by the Pirates' Hannah Reppert, the Tritons tied the game in the second when
Nikole Van Gennep scored on a wild pitch and took the lead in the third on an RBI single by Van Gennep.
ASU tied the game in the sixth, and both teams stranded runners in the seventh to send the game into extra innings.
Neither team was able to move its runner placed on second base in the eighth, setting up the thrilling finish in the ninth.
Garcia went 3-for-5 in the victory while King and Newstrom each had two hits. Van Gennep (5-8) earned the win in relief of
Grace Willeck, allowing one unearned run in four innings while striking out six.
In the opening game of the day, a six-run second inning propelled No. 4 North Georgia to a 9-3 win over Eckerd.
Dana Paul delivered a two-out, two-run single in the top of the third to get the Tritons on the scoreboard, but UNG added runs in the fourth and fifth innings for an 8-2 lead.
Eckerd scored again in the sixth when
Kaleigh Floyd's single drove in
Carrie Shere but EC stranded two runners in the inning.  The Nighthawks (15-4) answered with a run in the bottom of the inning and held the Tritons scoreless in the seventh to finish the game.
Floyd had two hits in defeat for Eckerd. Â Van Gennep was tagged with the loss, going two innings and allowing six runs. Â
Janna Gaburo worked the final four innings in the circle.
The Tritons will face the same two teams again tomorrow at 1:15 PM and 5:45 PM.
