ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd softball team ended a seven-game homestand with a doubleheader sweep of Lander (S.C.) on Thursday night at the Turley Athletic Complex. The Tritons used dominant pitching in the opening game followed by a three-run eighth in the finale.
In the opening game,
Nikole Van Gennep threw a gem in the circle for the Tritons only allowing two hits and carried a no-hitter through 4-2/3 innings. Van Gennep's flawless pitching performance was backed by a two-run homerun by
Meredith McGinnis.
In the finale, Eckerd fell behind early and scored the tying run in the seventh with two outs before winning the game with three runs in the eighth inning as
Dana Paul's two-out, two-run walkoff single sealed the sweep.
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
Final: Eckerd 3, Lander 0
Records: Eckerd 9-11, Lander 14-5
WP: Van Gennep (7-7)
LP: Ferguson (9-2)
HR: McGinnis (3)
Game Two
Final: Eckerd 6, Lander 5 (8 innings)
Records: Eckerd 10-11, Lander 14-6
WP: Van Gennep (8-7)
LP: Vinson (1-1)
KEY MOMENTS
Game One
- With Van Gennep keeping the Bearcats' offense off-balance, the Triton offense wasted little time getting on the board. After a Carrie Shere walk in the second inning, McGinnis blasted a ball out of the park to straightaway centerfield putting Eckerd up 2-0.
- The Tritons tacked on another run in the third frame to take a 3-0 lead, which they held onto for the remainder of the game. Kayelee Newstrom led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a Kaleigh Floyd bunt. Chelsea Armstrong then drove in Newstrom with a single to right center.
Game Two
- Lander took an early 2-0 lead in the third inning. After loading the bases. the Bearcats brought in two runs on a single up the middle.
- Eckerd responded in the bottom of the frame with one run. With Van Gennep on third and Armstrong on first, the Tritons successfully pulled off a double-steal as Van Gennep scored for their first run.
- Lander added another run in the fifth inning on an RBI single. Eckerd responded in the bottom of the frame courtesy of a Crystal Garcia sacrifice fly scoring Armstrong, who doubled to lead off the inning.
- Down to its last out, Eckerd rallied in the seventh inning to score the tying run and force the game into extra innings. Armstrong led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a groundout. Armstrong then scored on an error by Lander's shortstop fielding McGinnis' groundball.
- With the international tiebreaker rule in effect, Lander scored two runs in the eighth on two RBI singles.
- Eckerd responded in the bottom of the inning with three runs for the walk-off win. Newstrom led off the inning with an RBI single through the right side that scored Kaylin Kramer, who was placed on second. Down to its last out again, Eckerd delivered. Paul stepped into the box with Newstrom on third and Van Gennep on second. She delivered a high fly ball to shallow right field. The ball swirled in the 15 mile-per-hour winds and dropped in untouched in shallow right field scoring both Newstrom and Van Gennep.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Van Gennep earned both wins on the night. She pitched a complete game in the opener allowing just two hits while striking out seven in her second shutout of the season. In the finale, Van Gennep threw the eighth inning allowing one earned run.
- Eckerd has won seven of its last eight games and finished a seven-game homestand with a 6-1 record. During the homestand, Eckerd outscored its opponents 41-12.
- Armstrong and Paul led Eckerd in the finale with three hits each while Van Gennep and McGinnis each had two.
- Van Gennep's 18-game reached base streak was snapped in the first game.
UP NEXT
Eckerd heads to No. 13 Palm Beach Atlantic for a three-game series starting with a doubleheader Saturday at 3:00.
