Saint Leo Takes Two From Tritons

SAINT LEO, Fla. - The Triton baseball team put together a pair of late rallies at No. 17 Saint Leo on Sunday, but the Lions had an answer both times as they swept a doubleheader from Eckerd.

After Eckerd tied the opening game in the sixth inning and took the lead in the finale in the sixth, Saint Leo responded with big innings in the bottom halves to help preserve the two wins.

HOW IT ENDED
Game 1
Final: Saint Leo 8, Eckerd 6
WP: Tumbelty (5-1)  LP: Castle (0-3)  Sv: Isaacson (12)  HR: Torres (9)

Game 2
Final: Saint Leo 9, Eckerd 5
WP: Antonopoulos (3-2)  LP: Martin (2-4)

Records: Eckerd 22-23 (10-16 SSC); Saint Leo (33-9, 16-7 SSC)

KEY MOMENTS
Game 1

• The Lions scored a run in the first and three in the fourth while taking advantage of two Triton errors for a 4-0 lead through four innings.
• Eckerd put two runs on the board in the fifth thanks to a two-run homerun by Bryan Torres, whose blast followed a leadoff single by Shane LeMaster.
• Saint Leo scored with two outs in the sixth to extend its lead to 5-2, but Eckerd responded with three runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game aided by four walks and two wild pitches. LeMaster singled again to lead off the inning and scored on a wild pitch while Chase Achuff's sacrifice fly and Keith Leavitt, Jr.'s bases-loaded walk finished the inning.
• The Lions quickly retook the lead with three runs in the bottom of the seventh.
• Eckerd got a run back in the eighth on a two-out RBI single by Jamaal Chaney, but Peyton Isaacson retired the side in the ninth to earn his 12th save of the season.

Game 2

• Eckerd struck first in the second game, loading the bases with two outs in the top of the first inning and bringing in the first run on catcher's interference with LeMaster at the plate.  The Lions answered with a run in the bottom of the first on a triple and sacrifice fly.
• Saint Leo added two more runs in the fourth for a 3-1 lead while Shane Haight settled down after a rocky first frame and held Eckerd in check through five.
• The Tritons managed to get to Haight in the sixth inning, scoring four times on a trio of RBI singles by Garrett Hiott, LeMaster, and Justin Glover, taking a 5-3 lead.
• As they did in the first game, the Lions immediately answered with a three-run inning in the home half scoring all of their runs with two outs on a passed ball and an error.  SLU tacked on two more runs in the seventh and one in the eighth.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Saint Leo has won all four contests against Eckerd this season.
• Achuff recorded a hit in both ends of the doubleheader, extending his hitting streak to 25 games.  It is now the longest for a Triton since before 2003.
• Dillon McCollough received a no-decision in the opener while striking out 10 over six innings.  The junior eclipsed the 100-strikeout mark for the season, making him just the fourth player in program history to do so and the first since Joey Cuda in 2012.  He needs 11 strikeouts to tie the program's single-season mark held by Jim Mecir (1990).
• Torres smashed his ninth homerun of the season in the opening game, the most by a Triton since Chris Hanson hit nine homers in 2013.

UP NEXT
The two teams wrap up their series tomorrow with a single game beginning at 6:00 PM.