ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Mocs scored early in both contests as the Eckerd baseball team dropped its first conference series to Florida Southern. The Mocs took both games of the doubleheader 9-8 and 14-5 at the Turley Athletic Complex on Saturday night. Eckerd rallied late for eight runs over the final three frames in the opener, but ultimately fell.
The Tritons began the day falling behind early with seven runs in the second frame. The Mocs tallied runs in back-to-back innings in the fourth and fifth for a 9-0 lead.
Eckerd rallied for six runs in the seventh inning as Michael Ballard, Tyler Cox, Cam Collier, Dimerson Nunez, and Gunner Womer each drove in a run with RBI base hits, while Collier's scored two on his double as the Tritons trailed by three, 9-6.
The Tritons came close to equalizing in the bottom of the ninth, with Collier scoring on a wild pitch by Colin Camrigg with the bases loaded. Jake Fajardo hit a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing home Nunez, but it was not enough as the Tritons fell short, 9-8.
The Moccasins got an early jump in game two, putting up three runs in the first frame. Jake Andriole singled through the left side for an RBI to bring the score to 3-1 in the second.
Both teams tallied runs in the third, as the Mocs plated two and Eckerd one, with Ballard hitting an RBI double to right field, bringing home Kyle Abbott.
The Mocs tallied nine runs in three straight innings before two Triton sacrifice flies in the sixth by Andriole and Womer put EC on the board. Cox added another run with an RBI single in the seventh to close the night for the Tritons, falling in the final game of the series 14-5.
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
FINAL: Florida Southern 9, Eckerd 8
WP: Aric McAtee (2-2) LP: Tyler Cox (2-1) S: Colin Camrigg (1) HR: Jeff Liquori (3), Drew Cavanaugh (3), Bryce Safferwich (3)
Game Two
FINAL: Florida Southern 14, Eckerd 5
WP: Jordan Fox (2-0) LP: Wil Stockman (0-1) HR: El'Rico Riley (2), Drew Cavanaugh (4)
RECORDS: Eckerd 5-5 (0-3 SSC); Florida Southern 9-4 (3-0 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Abbott, Cox, and Nunez each recorded three hits in the opener, while Collier had two.
- Ballard and Nunez added a pair of hits in the finale.
- Collier, Ballard, Cox, Womer, and Andriole each had two RBIs on the day.
- The Tritons had 14 hits in game one and eight in game two.
- Nunez went 5-for-9 on the day.
- Gavin Grubbs struck out five batters through five innings of work to close game one.
- Ben Waxler fanned three through three innings of work to close the series finale.
UP NEXT
Eckerd returns to the Turley Athletic Complex for another conference series against the Barry Buccaneers next weekend, with the single game Friday night at 6:00 PM.
