Skip To Main Content

Triton Scoreboard

Baseball Generic
Katie Willgohs
8
Winner Valdosta State VSU 32-22
7
Eckerd College EC 31-19
Winner
Valdosta State VSU
32-22
8
Final
7
Eckerd College EC
31-19
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Valdosta State VSU 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 8 5 0
Eckerd College EC 0 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 13 2

W: Call Graham (3-1) L: Achuff, Chase (2-3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | John Armstrong, Director of Athletic Communications

Historic Season Comes to Close as Valdosta State Edges Tritons in Regionals

CLEVELAND, Miss. - In a season that saw its share of late-inning rallies, the Eckerd baseball team couldn't muster one more in the elimination bracket at the NCAA South Regional Tournament.

The Tritons carried a 7-6 lead over Valdosta State (Ga.) into the eighth inning but the Blazers tied it in the eighth and scored the go-ahead run in the ninth without getting a hit.

Mitch Calandra kept Eckerd's hopes alive in the bottom of the ninth with a one-out single, his record-breaking 84th hit of the season, but the Tritons weren't able to bring him home.

The loss brings an end to the historic season that saw Eckerd win its first conference title since 1981 and make its first appearance in the postseason since 1987.

Valdosta State advances to face second-seeded Delta State (Miss.) in tomorrow's finals.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: Valdosta State 8, Eckerd 7
WP: Graham (3-1)  LP: Achuff (3-3)
Records: Eckerd 31-19, Valdosta State 32-22

KEY MOMENTS
  • Three of the first four batters of the game for Valdosta State reached via walk, but reliever Kyle Durham was able to work out of the jam allowing only one run.
  • The Blazers took a 5-0 lead after a four-run second, highlighted by a two-run double by Jowenrick Daantji and a two-run homer by D.J. King.
  • Eckerd got two runs back in the bottom of the inning on a Nick Arrivo RBI single and a two-out RBI double by Mitch Donofrio.
  • VSU picked up another run in the top of the third on a double steal attempt with two outs. Mike Christopoulos managed to keep himself in a rundown long enough for Aaron Haughton to score from third.
  • The Tritons responded with a five-run inning in the bottom of the third. After two walks opened the inning, Mitch Calandra and Sam Cochrane both delivered run-scoring singles. Justin Glover later singled in a run and Donofrio drove in two with a single to center to give EC a 7-6 lead.
  • The score remained 7-6 until the top of the eighth. Haughton stretched out a double on a grounder to left field with one out before advancing to third and then home on a pair of wild pitches to score the tying run.
  • The Blazers took the lead in the top of the ninth without recording a hit. VSU led off the inning with a walk and an error to put runners on first and second. Chase Achuff retired the next two batters but issued another walk on a 3-2 count, then hit Haughton with the bases loaded to bring in the go-ahead run.
  • Calandra reached in the bottom of the ninth on a one-out single to represent the tying run but Call Graham coaxed a 4-6-3 double play to end the game.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
  • With a 3-for-5 performance in his final game Calandra broke another program record, this time for hits in a season. His single in the ninth was his 84th, passing the previous record of 83 set by Marc Coriaty in 1999.
  • Eckerd's 31 wins were the most by a Triton team since 1991 in Coach John Mayotte's last season (31-21).
  • Arrivo joined Calandra with three hits while Donofrio and Keith Leavitt, Jr., both had two. Donofrio drove in three runs.
  • Eckerd out-hit Valdosta State, 13-5, but issued an uncharacteristic 10 walks and hit three batters.
Print Friendly Version