Eighth-Inning Rally Lifts Saint Leo Past Eckerd

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A late lead slipped away from the Eckerd baseball team on Tuesday night as Saint Leo scored five runs in the eighth inning to rally for an 8-5 win over the Tritons.

After the Lions took a 3-1 lead in the third inning, Eckerd came back to tie the game and eventually go ahead, 5-3, after scoring three runs in the sixth.

But, in a game that featured 15 walks between the two teams, it was SLU's bats that came alive and made the difference in the eighth with five runs on five hits - four of which came with two outs.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: Saint Leo 8, Eckerd 5
Records: Saint Leo 7-2, Eckerd 5-3
WP: Gordillo (2-1)  LP: Iervolino (0-1)  Sv: Isaacson (5)
Note: Kane was incorrectly assigned the loss in the box score 

KEY MOMENTS

• The Tritons strung together three straight hits in the bottom of the second to produce the game's first run, which came on Nick Arrivo's RBI single that brought home Garrett Hiott.
• With two outs in the third, Eckerd starter Justin Carrillo left the game with an apparent injury.  Cam Lanzilli came on in relief without getting the opportunity to fully warm up and surrendered a three-run home run to Peyton Isaacson.
• Eckerd drew four walks in the fourth inning, the last of which gave Chase Achuff an RBI as it came with the bases loaded making the score 3-2.
• EC drew another bases-loaded walk in the sixth when Keith Leavitt, Jr. got a free pass from reliever Oscar Gordillo.  Mitch Calandra followed with a run-scoring single to left to score Achuff, and Nick Conti also came in on the play after a throwing error by SLU for a 5-3 Eckerd lead.
• Brent Coffel's solo home run with one out in the seventh pulled the Lions within a run, but reliever Jack Iervolino struck out the next batter for the second out with the bases empty. However, Saint Leo scored four more runs with two outs on four hits, taking an 8-5 lead.
• Eckerd was only able to place one runner on base for the rest of the game while Isaacson retired the side in order in the ninth to earn the save.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Joey Favetta was outstanding in three innings of relief, allowing no runs and no hits while walking three and striking out three.
• Sam Cochrane reached base safely in his first four plate appearances with two singles, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch.
• Five players extended their reached base streaks to eight games tonight: Cochrane, Calandra, Hiott, Conti and Bryan Torres.  Cochrane and Hiott have hit safely in all eight games so far.

UP NEXT
The Tritons welcome Palm Beach Atlantic on Friday and Saturday for a three-game series to open conference play.