Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Three home runs in the sixth and seventh innings gave Saint Leo the boost it needed to hand the Eckerd baseball team a 12-3 loss in the opening game of a three-game series on Thursday at the Turley Athletic Complex.
The Lions (20-22, 5-14 SSC) hammered a pair of two-run homers in the sixth to claim the lead, then blew the game open with a seven-run seventh that included a three-run shot by Shane Williams.
The two big innings erased an early 3-0 Triton lead behind four strong frames from
Dillon McCollough.
Back-to-back doubles with two outs by
Tom Buonopane and
Chase Achuff put Eckerd (17-25, 6-10 SSC) on the board in the third. Â One inning later, the Tritons again came through with two outs via RBI hits from
Andrew Don and
Daniel Autiello.
Saint Leo finally got to McCollough in the fifth when Michael Mann doubled home Williams, but the EC starter stranded runners at second and third to limit the damage.
However, he wasn't as fortunate in the sixth after a pair of two-run blasts by Alex Mata and Brett Coffel gave SLU a 5-3 lead.
The Lions then blew the game open with seven runs in the next inning, and the Tritons couldn't make a dent in the deficit as the combination of Tyler Bauman, Eoin McAvinchey and Dan Twitty held them scoreless from the fifth inning on.
McCollough (6-4) took the loss, breaking a streak of four consecutive winning decisions. Â
Gardner Nutter and
Ben Deaver each tossed a scoreless inning in relief.
Despite the loss, Eckerd did tally 13 hits including three from
Sam Cochrane and two each from Achuff, Don and Autiello.
The series continues with a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 3:00 PM.
