FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Following a pitchers' duel for the first seven innings, Nova Southeastern rallied late to take the opener, 4-2. However, the Eckerd baseball team flipped the script in the finale, rallying in the seventh on Danny Gutcher's triple to take the game, 8-7, as they split the doubleheader Saturday afternoon at NSU Baseball Complex.
EC struck first in the opener with a run in the second frame as Jake Andriole crossed on a Sharks' error.
Brendan Lawry and the Triton defense kept NSU's bats at bay over the first five innings before the Sharks tied the game at 1-1 in the sixth with an RBI single.
Nova Southeastern then took a 4-1 lead in the eighth on a pair of RBI infield singles and a run scoring on an error. EC rallied for a run in the ninth with an RBI single by Andriole, but the Tritons were unable to plate the tying run.
The Tritons plated an early run on Mitch Donofrio's RBI groundout in the opening frame of the finale, but the Sharks added three runs in the bottom of the frame on an error and wild pitch.
The Sharks made it a 4-1 lead in the second with an RBI single. EC responded for two runs in the third on a Dimerson Nunez RBI single and Tyler Cox's groundout. However, NSU made it a 5-3 lead after scoring on a wild pitch in the third.
Eckerd continued its rally pulling within one in the fourth on Weston Wiles' RBI single before tying the game in the sixth on Michael Ballard's RBI single to center. EC took an 8-5 lead in the seventh on Danny Gutcher's two-run triple and Wiles' RBI single.
The Sharks rallied for two runs in the eighth, but Jake Andriole closed the door in the ninth to seal the win.
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
FINAL: Nova Southeastern 4, Eckerd 2
WP: Ornelas (1-1) LP: Lawry (1-2) S: Dillon (9)
Game Two
FINAL: Eckerd 8, Nova Southeastern 7
WP: Venditti (1-0) LP: Bradarich (1-1) S: Andriole (1)
RECORDS: Eckerd 14-18 (7-8 SSC), Nova Southeastern 26-9 (9-9 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Andriole led EC in the opener, going 3-for-4 while driving in both of EC's runs.
- Wiles made his first appearance of the season, starting the second game as the designated hitter.
- Ballard led EC in the second game with three hits, while Mikey Burke, Nunez, Gutcher, and Wiles added two hits each.
- Tyler Venditti earned his first career win in the finale, while Andriole collected his first career save.
- Andriole extended his reached base streak to 22 games while Joe Wike pushed his to 19 games.
UP NEXT
Eckerd returns to the Turley Athletic Complex on Thursday, hosting No. 10 Rollins for a three-game series at 6:00 PM.
