Eckerd Finishes Series Sweep of Rollins

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - In a repeat of Friday night, the Eckerd baseball team received more strong pitching and timely hitting as the Tritons capped a three-game sweep of Rollins by taking both ends of a Saturday doubleheader at the Turley Athletic Complex.

Nick Alonzo and Robin Allen both gave Eckerd solid outings on the mound while Joey Favetta nailed down saves in both contests as he did last night.

At the plate, Eckerd did most of its damage over three innings and it proved to be enough to complete the weekend sweep.

HOW IT ENDED
Game 1
Final: Eckerd 7, Rollins 4
WP: Alonzo (4-2)  LP: Case (4-3)  Sv: Favetta (3)  HR: Peterson 2 (9), Santucci (4), Russell (1), Leavitt Jr. (4)

Game 2
Final: Eckerd 5, Rollins 4
WP: Allen (2-2)  LP: Leonard (4-2)  Sv: Favetta (4)  HR: Peterson (10), Meehan (1), Conti (3), LeMaster (2)

Records: Eckerd 13-15 (6-9 SSC), Rollins 16-11 (4-5 SSC)

KEY MOMENTS
Game 1

• Alonzo started the game on fire, striking out six of the first seven batters he face.  Rollins, however, got solo homeruns by Bryce Peterson and Nick Santucci in the second and fourth innings for an early 2-0 lead.
• After Rollins starter Brad Case faced the minimum through the first three innings, Eckerd finally got to him in the fourth. Nick Conti reached on an error and came in to score after a single by Chase Achuff and a double by Mitch Calandra.  Keith Leavitt, Jr. brought in Achuff on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2.
• Garrett Hiott kept the inning alive with an RBI single, advancing to second on the throw and to third when Case sailed a pickoff throw into centerfield. After Shane LeMaster was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners, the Tritons successfully executed a double-steal with Hiott swiping home just ahead of the throw from second.
• Alonzo ran into trouble in the fifth and sixth innings but worked out of it both times, leaving the bases loaded in the fifth and stranding two in the sixth.
• The Tritons were able to chase Case in the sixth, scoring three more times for a 7-2 lead. Leavitt, Jr. led off the inning with a homerun followed by back-to-back singles by Hiott and LeMaster, the second on a hit-and-run that moved Hiott to third.  Hiott eventually scored on a wild pitch and Justin Glover ripped a single back up the middle to bring in LeMaster.
• Isaiah Russell hit a solo homerun to lead off the seventh, ending the day for Alonzo.  Jarid Salisbury entered in relief and worked around a single to the first batter he faced, getting a double-play grounder and a strikeout to get out of the inning.
• Peterson blasted his second homerun of the game leading off the eighth but another Tars scoring threat was erased on a double play later in the inning.
• Rollins got a single and a walk to open the ninth inning before Coach Josh Beauregard called in Favetta with the tying run at the plate.  Favetta immediately coaxed a 6-4-3 double play for the first and second outs, then ended the game by striking out Luke Reidy.

Game 2

• Eckerd got off to a quick start in the bottom of the first with a Conti double and an Achuff single putting runners at the corners. Calandra's sacrifice fly scored Conti from third for a 1-0 lead.
• Peterson led off the second inning with his third homerun of the day tying the game at 1-1.
• LeMaster answered in the bottom of the second with a leadoff shot to right field just inside the pole, starting a three-run inning as Eckerd batted around and chased Tars starter Garrett Leonard. Conti and Calandra added RBI singles in the inning as the Tritons took a 4-1 lead.
• Eckerd added another run in the fourth on a solo shot by Conti to lead off the inning.
• Rollins answered in the top of the fifth on Cameron Meehan's solo blast to center field.
• Allen continued to cruise through the seventh inning, retiring nine of the last 10 batters he faced. However, the Tars took advantage of three walks in the top of the eighth to score twice off a pair of EC relievers.  Jack Iervolino, however, got a key strikeout to end the inning and strand the tying run at third.
• Favetta again got the call in the ninth inning after the Tars got runners at first and second with one out, though a leadoff double by Meehan was erased on a fielder's choice when he tried to go to third on a grounder up the middle.  This time, Favetta got a pair of grounders to close the door on Rollins and earn his third save of the series.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• The two teams combined for a total of nine homeruns in the doubleheader.  All were solo shots.
• One night after Dillon McCollough set a new career-high in strikeouts, Alonzo and Allen did the same.  Alonzo fanned eight through six-plus while Allen set down nine in seven innings.
• The series sweep was the first for Eckerd against a full conference member since the Tritons took three from Rollins in February 2015.
• Eckerd pitchers combined to strike out 35 batters in the series.

UP NEXT
The Tritons are back at the Turley Athletic Complex on Monday hosting Keiser (Fla.) at 4:00 PM.