St. Thomas Defeats Eckerd in Midweek Matchup

Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Bobcats of St. Thomas (Fla.) used a pair of high-scoring innings to knock off the Eckerd baseball team on Tuesday, 13-2, at the Turley Athletic Complex.

St. Thomas, ranked No. 12 in the NAIA, scored four runs in the first and seven in the ninth in handing Eckerd (3-11) its fifth straight loss.

A three-run home run with two outs in the first inning by Randy Oliva gave the Bobcats (12-5) an early 4-0 lead.  Eckerd got a run back in the bottom of the inning after Sam Cochrane led off with a double and scored on a Nick Conti single.

Both teams' pitchers settled in afterward with Justin Carrillo and Chris Rodriguez each holding their opponents scoreless in the next three innings.

Saint Thomas looked poised for a big inning in the fifth after scoring a run and loading the bases with no outs.  However, Nick Alonzo entered in relief and pitched out of the jam with a strikeout and a double play.

Joey Favetta matched Alonzo's escape in the seventh, getting a strikeout and inning-ending double play after putting runners on first and second with nobody out.

In the bottom of the seventh, Garrett Hiott doubled and advanced to third on a throwing error, then came in to score when Cochrane ripped a line drive off the leg of STU pitcher Devon Stubbings.

However, the Bobcats blew the game open by scoring seven times in the ninth inning.

Cochrane's leadoff double extended his hitting streak to 14 games as he went 2-for-3 in the contest.  Hiott also recorded two hits for Eckerd.

Carrillo (0-3) took the loss, allowing five runs over four-plus innings pitched.  Eckerd pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts with Carrillo fanning a career-best five batters.

The two teams return to the field at the Turley Athletic Complex on Wednesday for a 4:00 PM contest.