TRITONS THIS WEEK: What's Coming On February 5-11

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Eckerd athletics ramps up this week with a busy home schedule. Tennis starts its spring season with home matches on Friday and Saturday. Baseball and softball both play their home openers this week while basketball hosts on Saturday.

BASEBALL
Tuesday: vs. Florida Southern | 6:00 PM | Turley Athletic Complex | Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday: at Spring Hill (Ala.) | 12:00 PM (DH) | Historic Stan Galle Field | Live Stats
Sunday: at Spring Hill (Ala.) | 11:00 AM (DH) | Historic Stan Galle Field | Live Stats

• Eckerd (2-1) opened the season with a series win over Shorter last weekend. The Tritons look to add to the win column as they host Florida Southern Tuesday night for the home opener and travel to Spring Hill (Ala.) Saturday and Sunday to play four seven-inning games.
• Eckerd saw quality outings from its pitchers over the weekend. Nick Alonzo (1-0) and Jack Iervolino combined for a two-hit shutout over seven innings on Saturday. Dillon McCollough threw five strong innings allowing one earned run in a no-decision while Justin Carrillo (1-0) pitched 3.1 innings of relief without giving up a hit on Sunday.
• Four Tritons hit over .300 during the series: Sam Cochrane (.455), Bryan Torres (.400), Keith Leavitt, Jr. (.333), and Garrett Hiott (.333). Hiott and Leavitt, Jr. also led the team with three RBIs apiece. Torres and Justin Glover showed their power each smashing a home run in the series.
• Florida Southern (3-0) took a series sweep over West Florida to begin the season. Omar Villaman leads the team hitting .400 while Cody Burgess has two home runs in three games. The Moccasin pitching has allowed only four earned runs in the opening series.
• Spring Hill (1-2) opened the season with a series loss to Auburn-Montgomery. Brennan Fontenot leads the team at the plate hitting .600 over the opening three games. Zach Paulene leads the Badgers on the mound with a 0.00 ERA over four innings pitched.

TENNIS
Women's
                Friday: vs. No. 2 Barry | 3:00 PM | Bullard Courts
                Saturday: vs. Embry-Riddle | 12:00 PM | Bullard Courts
Men's
                Saturday: vs. No. 10 Embry-Riddle | 12:00 PM | Bullard Courts

• Eckerd opens the season with the women hosting two matches against No. 2 Barry on Friday and Embry-Riddle on Saturday. The men also open the season on Saturday hosting No. 10 Embry-Riddle.
• Both teams look to build off last year's seasons. The men return Matt Spasic and Will Stone as a dominant doubles team that earned an all-conference selection. On the women's side, Eckerd returns MaryAnn Aaron and Joyce Fields who led the team last year. Newcomer Taylor Selby looks to aid the team after turning in a strong fall outing.

SOFTBALL
Friday: vs. West Georgia | 3:00 PM (DH) | Turley Athletic Complex | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday: vs. No. 18 Valdosta State (Ga.) | 1:00 PM (DH) | Turley Athletic Complex | Live Stats | Live Video

• Eckerd (2-2) had two big comeback wins at the Gulf Shores Invitational last weekend over West Alabama in extra innings and a walk-off win over No. 3 West Florida.  Eckerd looks to add to the win column as the Tritons host West Georgia Friday for a doubleheader in the home opener and host No. 18 Valdosta State Sunday.
• The Tritons saw big bats from Crystal Garcia, Nikole Van Gennep, and Kayelee Newstrom. Garcia leads the team in batting average (.467) and opened the season going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run, and three RBIs. Newstrom also added three RBIs and a home run over No. 3 West Florida. Van Gennep came up with two clutch hits for Eckerd in both wins. She delivered a single to drive in the tying run against West Alabama and later came through with a walk-off double against No. 3 West Florida.
• Eckerd used all five pitchers over four games at the Gulf Shores Invitational. Van Gennep received all the decisions going 2-2. Both wins came in relief appearances against West Alabama and West Florida.
• West Georgia (4-1) also played in the Gulf Shores Invitational last weekend with four wins. The Wolves will play at Tampa Thursday before heading to St. Pete on Friday.  Lexie Stohr leads the team at the plate with a .467 batting average and six RBIs. Katie Foote leads the team in the circle with a 0.76 ERA in 18 innings pitched.
• No. 18 Valdosta State (3-1) is coming off a loss to Florida Tech but will play four games during the week before facing Eckerd. Taylor Hartenbach and Kiley Robb lead the team at the plate with both hitting .545. Kathryn Carter leads the team with 14 innings pitched and a 3.00 ERA.
• Eckerd faced off with West Georgia just days ago on Friday to open the season. West Georgia won, 9-3, while Garcia led Eckerd with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday: Nova Southeastern | 2:00 PM | McArthur Center | Live Stats | Live Video

• Eckerd (16-6, 10-5 SSC) went 1-1 last week in conference with a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to Florida Southern but bounced back for a win over Lynn on Saturday. The Tritons faces an idle date on Wednesday before hosting Nova Southeastern on Saturday.
• Kacie Juday and Zoe Richards lead the team both averaging double digits in points with 12.2 and 11.8 respectively. Richards has been on a tear lately, scoring 20 or more points in three of her past four contests. Juday posted three double-doubles in her past four games while also grabbing six steals Saturday against Lynn. Ada Yalcin has distributed the ball well recently averaging 5.6 assists per game over the past five games and reaching eight assists twice during the stretch.
• Nova Southeastern (10-10, 6-8 SSC) is coming off a win over Embry-Riddle and will face Saint Leo before heading to the McArthur Center. The Sharks are led by Kayla Wright (16.1 ppg), Alison Hughes (13.0), and Christen Prasse (12.5). Wright also averages 5.5 rebounds per contest but hasn't played since December 30.
• Nova beat Eckerd in Fort Lauderdale last month, 81-55, as the Sharks shot at 50 percent. Yarden Danan led Eckerd in the loss with 12 points.

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday: Nova Southeastern (White Out) | 4:00 PM | McArthur Center | Live Stats | Live Video

• Eckerd (17-5, 10-5 SSC) went 1-1 last week with a tough overtime loss at Florida Southern before rebounding for a dominant win over Lynn. The Tritons face an idle date on Wednesday before hosting Nova Southeastern on Saturday.
• Trevon Young and Keshawn Ingram led Eckerd last week. Young averages 16.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game this season. Last week Young recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 26 points and a career-high 17 rebounds against Lynn. Ingram averages 11.6 points per game for the season but has averaged 14.5 points over the last two weeks. Ingram knocked down four 3-pointers Saturday against Lynn while also grabbing three steals.
• Eckerd currently ranks eighth nationally in rebound margin with a plus-9.7 average. Young leads the team on the boards while Drushaun McLaurn and Marco Behori contribute on the glass averaging 6.8 and 6.0 rebounds per game respectively.
• Nova Southeastern (14-6, 8-6 SSC) enters the week off a win over Embry-Riddle last week and will face Saint Leo before playing at the McArthur Center. The Sharks are led by David Dennis and Malik Hardy averaging 20.7 and 16.2 points per game. Dennis also averages 6.4 rebounds per game.
• Eckerd's rally came up short as NSU beat Eckerd last month, 86-82. Eckerd turned the ball over a season-high 19 times in the loss. Young led Eckerd with 20 points and 12 rebounds.