CLEVELAND, Miss. - The Eckerd baseball team has a tall task ahead in order to keeps its historic season alive after the weekend.
Sixth-seeded Valdosta State (Ga.) tallied 17 hits and got to Eckerd ace
Dillon McCollough early in the game, sending the Tritons into the elimination bracket with a 6-1 win in the opening game of the South Region II Tournament at Delta State University's Harvey Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Valdosta State 6, Eckerd 1
WP: Cone (5-1)
 LP: McCollough (8-2)
Records: Eckerd 30-18; Valdosta State 31-21
KEY MOMENTS
- The Blazers used four singles in the top of the first inning to plate two runs for an early lead.
- VSU's Josh Broughton hit a solo homerun in the third to make it 3-0, and the Blazers scored again in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Mack Hathcock.
- Meanwhile, the Tritons were unable to find a solution to Valdosta State starter Tristan Cone. Eckerd only managed to put three runners on base in the first six innings.
- The Blazers took a 6-0 lead in the fifth scoring two runs on four more singles.
- Eckerd finally broke up Cone's shutout bid in the ninth. Chase Achuff led off the inning with a double and later scored on a one-out double by Justin Glover. Cone, however, retired the next two batters to end the game.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- McCollough gave up a season-high 15 hits and struck out a season-low four batters in taking his second loss of the year.
- Achuff and Glover each had two hits while Nick Conti and Garrett Hiott both had one.
- The game was Eckerd's first postseason contest since 1987.
UP NEXT
The Tritons face the loser of tonight's game between Embry-Riddle and Delta State on Friday at 4:40 PM EDT in the double-elimination tournament.
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