Eckerd Drops Doubleheader at No. 23 Saint Leo

SAINT LEO, Fla. - The Triton baseball team rallied to force extra innings in the opener but ultimately dropped the game, 7-6, before falling in the finale, 9-5, thanks to an early six-run No. 23 Saint Leo frame as Eckerd dropped the doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Thomas B. Southard Stadium.

The Tritons struck first on a Tyler Cox RBI double in the first inning of the opener, but SLU responded with a solo homerun in the third. Dimerson Nunez gave EC a 3-1 lead in the fourth on a two-RBI sacrifice fly. However, the Lions responded to even the score, 3-3, in the next frame before adding another three runs in the sixth and seventh innings for a 6-3 lead. 

EC rallied to pull within one in the eighth on an RBI single by Jake Andriole and a two-run double by Danny Gutcher. Michael Ballard evened the score in the ninth with a solo blast to left field to force extra innings. However, the Lions walked it off in the 10th on a Nick Wyman sacrifice fly. 

Saint Leo took a 1-0 lead in the third inning of the finale, but Eckerd evened the score in the next frame on a Jake Andriole RBI double. The Lions then took a commanding lead, 7-1, with six runs in the fourth. 

Andriole delivered another RBI double in the sixth, but SLU added another two runs in the seventh for a 9-2 lead. The Tritons rallied for three runs over the last two innings with RBIs from Gutcher and Joe Wike and a run scored on a passed ball, but EC could not complete the comeback. 

HOW IT ENDED
Game One 
FINAL: No. 23 Saint Leo 7, Eckerd 6 (10 Innings)
WP: Jones (6-1) LP: Donofrio (0-1) HR: Ballard (5), Arcuii (2)

Game Two 
FINAL: No. 23 Saint Leo 9, Eckerd 5
WP: Fregio (8-2) LP: Durham (2-4) HR: Crail (5); Bobby Sparling (21)

RECORDS: Eckerd 18-27 (11-16 SSC); Saint Leo 35-15 (11-16 SSC)

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Ballard's homerun was his fifth of the season. 
• Cox and Gutcher each collected three hits in the opener. 
• Andriole had three hits in the finale, while Donofrio and Cox added two apiece. 
• Andriole had three doubles on the day. 
• Wike had a hit in the opener, extending his reached base streak to 31 games, but it was snapped in the finale. His streak was the longest since Nick Conti had 35 games in 2017. 
• Donofrio extended his reached base streak to 20 games, while Cox (16) and Nunez (14) extended theirs as well. 

UP NEXT 
Eckerd wraps up the season next week with a three-game series with Tampa at the Turley Athletic Complex. The Tritons will honor their seniors on Thursday at 6:00 PM to open the series.