ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Two high-scoring bouts at the Turley Athletic Complex resulted in the Tritons' baseball team dropping the series to the Panthers after falling in both games of the doubleheader 8-7 and 13-8 on Saturday afternoon.
The Tritons played from behind for both games as they started game one in a 3-0 hole, with Florida Tech scoring three runs in the third. A two-run homerun by Michael Ballard in the bottom of the frame brought EC within one.
The Panthers extended their tally to seven by the fifth frame following a three-run homer in the fourth and a run in the fifth.
Eckerd put up five unanswered runs, with two in the bottom of the ninth, to send the game to extra innings. Cam Collier and Kyle Ericsson added RBIs in the sixth, and Jake Andriole added a run in the eighth before an RBI double by Tyler Cox and an RBI single by Kyle Abbott tied the game in the ninth.
Parrish scored on a sacrifice fly by McGowan in the 11th to give the Panthers the advantage. Tyler Cox had a base hit for a runner on with two outs in the 11th, but it was not enough as Eckerd dropped the game 8-7.
The Tritons began game two in a similar fashion, going down 5-0 to open as the Panthers added a run in the opening frame and four in the third.
Kam Gelwick picked up his second career homerun in the third to put Eckerd on the board. Florida Tech added another run in the fourth, but Eckerd added a three-run inning in the bottom of the frame. Ericson hit his first homerun of the game, followed by an RBI from Ballard, shortening the deficit to two, 6-4.
Patrick hit his second homerun of the series to double the Panthers' tally, 8-4. Ericson and Joe Wike brought the Tritons back within two with RBIs in the fifth.
The Panthers added another three runs before being stifled once again by an Ericson homerun in the seventh. Kyle Abbott recorded his first career homerun in the eighth to end the night falling 13-8.
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
FINAL: Florida Tech 8, Eckerd 7 (11 Inn.)
WP: Stephens (2-2) LP: Shalley (4-2) HR: Ballard (4)
Game Two
FINAL: Florida Tech 13, Eckerd 8
WP: Cleveland (3-3) LP: Stockman (2-3) HR: Gelwick (2), Ericson 2 (4), Patrick (4), Abbott (1)
RECORDS: Eckerd (16-12, 5-7 SSC), Florida Tech (20-12, 9-6 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- The Tritons combined for 32 hits on the day, with 19 in the finale.
- Abbott, Ballard, and Ericson each had six hits on the day.
- Ballard went 4-for-5 in the finale, followed by Ericson going 3-for-4
- Ericson hit two homeruns in the finale, bringing his season total to four. His four RBIs tied his career-high set last night. He totaled nine RBIs throughout the series.
- Eckerd totaled six homeruns in the series, which is the most in a series so far.
UP NEXT
The Tritons travel to Winter Park, Florida, Thursday for a conference series against the Rollins College Tars. Thursday's game begins at 6:00 PM, and the doubleheader on Friday begins at 12:00 PM.
