DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.. - The Eckerd baseball team bounced back from a series-opening loss last night for a doubleheader sweep over Embry-Riddle at Sliwa Field on Saturday afternoon. After falling behind 7-1, the Tritons rallied for an 8-7 victory in the day's opener and took a 12-8 victory in the rubber match.
Embry-Riddle was first on the board in game one, with a pair of runs in the second. Michael Ballard retaliated with an RBI double to shorten the deficit to one. The Eagles extended their lead with another pair of runs in the fourth for a 4-1 favor. Another two-run inning in the sixth left the Tritons in a 6-1 hole before Embry-Riddle added another in the seventh for a 7-1 lead.
The Tritons racked up seven runs in the final two innings for the come-from-behind victory. In the eighth, with two outs and two runners on, Kyle Abbott doubled down the left field line to bring home Darius Bradley. Cam Collier repeated with a double down the left field line to shorten EC's deficit to three, 7-4.
In the ninth, with one out and the bases loaded, Tyler Cox doubled to left center to bring Eckerd's tally to six. Ballard followed with another two-run double to left center to give the Tritons their first lead of the game, 8-7. Tucker Shalley earned the save, as the Tritons made it out of the ninth unscathed to defeat the Eagles 8-7.
For the first time in the series, the Tritons struck first with a solo homerun to right field by Cox in the first. Embry-Riddle retaliated to even the score at one in the first. In the second, both Cox and Ballard added RBI singles to increase EC's favor to two. The Eagles leveled the scales once again with a two-run second inning.
In the third, Peter Stavrakos scored on an error to regain the lead. Eckerd began to pull away in the fourth inning, adding another five runs to lead 9-3. Embry-Riddle went on a five-run streak of their own in the following three innings to narrow the margin, 9-8. Cox answered with his second homer of the game, bringing EC to double-digit runs. A sacrifice fly by Stavrakos and a bases-loaded walk by Joe Wike secured the 12-8 rubber match victory.
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
FINAL: Eckerd 8, Embry-Riddle 7
WP: Koch (1-0) LP: Balsam (2-3) S: Shalley (3)
Game Two
FINAL: Eckerd 12, Embry-Riddle 8
WP: Waxler (1-1) LP: Stufano (6-5) S: Cox (1) HR: Cox 2 (7), Post (2)
RECORDS: Eckerd (20-22, 8-16 SSC), Embry-Riddle (22-23, 9-18 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Ballard led EC in the day's opener, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Collier and Cox each added two RBIs.
- Cox went 3-for-6 in the finale, with two homeruns and three RBIs. Stavrakos followed suit with a season-high two-RBI performance, going 3-for-4. Wike also added two RBIs in the finale, going 2-for-4.
- Wil Stockman had four strikeouts in the day's opener, and Ben Waxler had one strikeout in the finale to earn the win.
- EC racked up 19 hits in the finale, for 30 hits on the day.
UP NEXT
The Tritons play their final non-conference midweek game on the road on Tuesday. Eckerd will face off against Rollins at 5:00 PM at Alfond Stadium.
