ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Sailfish rallied with seven runs over the final three innings to take the opener, 7-5, but the Tritons prevailed in a back-and-forth finale, 8-6, as the Eckerd baseball team took the SSC series from Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday at the Turley Athletic Complex.
Jake Andriole gave the Tritons an early lead in the opener with a two-run single in the first frame. EC went quiet over the next four innings before a Tyler Cox RBI single in the sixth gave the Tritons a 3-0 lead.
PBA responded with seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings to take a 7-3 lead. Jeff Manto hit a solo homerun in the seventh, while two runs scored on an error, followed by a sacrifice fly as part of a four-run seventh.
Eckerd rallied in the ninth with two runs on Mitch Donofrio's single. However, EC was unable to make up the difference, falling 7-5.
The teams traded runs throughout the opening five innings in the finale. PBA scored first on a sacrifice fly before Dimerson Nunez scored in the bottom of the frame to even the score at 1-1 in the first. The Sailfish took a 2-1 lead in the fourth before Andriole gave EC back the lead, 3-2, on a two-run homer in the fourth.
The Sailfish added a run in the fifth, but Donorfio answered for the Tritons in the bottom of the frame with a two-RBI double for a 5-3 lead. The Sailfish evened the score again in the seventh with a pair of runs, but the Tritons took the lead for good in the bottom of the frame on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch by Tyler Cox and two-RBI single from Andriole.
PBA tacked on a run in the eighth, but Kyle Durham closed the door in the ninth to seal the victory, and the series win.
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
Final: Palm Beach Atlantic 7, Eckerd 5
WP: Beebe (1-0) LP: Waxler (0-1) HR: Manto (1)
Game Two
Final: Eckerd 8, Palm Beach Atlantic 6
WP: Perry (2-0) LP: Holweger (1-2) S: Durham (1) HR: Andriole (1)
RECORDS: Eckerd 6-7 (2-1 SSC); Palm Beach Atlantic 7-7 (3-3 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Dimerson Nunez, Joe Wike, and Jake Fajardo each recorded two hits in the opener, while Nunez, Mikey Burke, and Andriole had multi-hit efforts in the final.
- Andriole collected six RBIs over both games, including four in the finale.
- Nunez went 6-for-13 in the series with five runs scored.
- Donofrio collected four RBIs over both games. He also extended his reached base streak to 20 games, including all 13 this season.
- Eckerd went 13-for-13 in stolen bases in the series, including going 5-for-5 in the finale.
- Curtis Perry earned the win in relief in the finale, tossing an inning and two-thirds while Durham collected his first save of the season.
QUOTABLE
"I thought we competed well all weekend," said head coach Josh Beauregard '03. "The guys stepped up to get a nice conference series win."
UP NEXT
Eckerd returns to the Turley Athletic Complex on Tuesday, hosting Davenport (Mich.) at 6:00 PM.
