ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After taking the series opener, the Eckerd baseball team fell in its first conference series of the season to No. 22 Lynn, dropping both games of the doubleheader 6-2 and 8-3 on Saturday afternoon at the Turley Athletic Complex.
Three scoreless innings began the day's opener, with Rene Ramos pitching a 1-2-3 inning in the third. Derek LaMontagne hit a three-run homer to right-center in the fourth to give Lynn the 3-0 lead. The Fighting Knights made quick work of the Tritons in the bottom of the frame with a 1-2-3 inning. Lynn added two more runs in the fifth for a 5-0 favor.
Eckerd broke the shutout in the bottom of the sixth after Bradley White stole two bases and came home on a throwing error by Peter Avino in an attempt to catch White stealing third. Lynn extended its lead to 6-1 in the ninth. Eckerd had a good chance to equalize in the bottom of the ninth after an RBI double by Kyle Ericson narrowed the deficit to four. With two runners on and no outs, Eckerd could not complete the comeback with two strikeouts and a pop up for Lynn to take the day's opener 6-2.
Lynn wasted no time in the rubber match, quickly putting up three runs in the first. They added four more in the third frame for a 7-0 tilt. An RBI single by Tyler Cox in the bottom of the frame opened up the scoring for Eckerd. A single through the right side in the fourth by Dawson Jones shrank the Triton deficit to five before a bases-loaded walk by Cox gave him his second RBI of the contest for Eckerd to trail 7-3. Gavin Grubbs came in relief in the ninth for Ben Waxler. Grubbs walked three straight, including one walk with the bases loaded to give the Fighting Knights their final tally for the gam, with the score sitting at 8-3.
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
FINAL: No. 22 Lynn 6, Eckerd 2
WP: Bryce Pratt (2-1) LP: Rene Ramos (0-3) S: Joel Hayner (4) HR: LaMontagne (1)
Game Two
FINAL: No. 22 Lynn 8, Eckerd 3
WP: Drew Clark (2-0) LP: Austin Kapela (0-3)
RECORDS: Eckerd 6-6 (1-2 SSC), Lynn 10-4 (2-1 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- White led Eckerd with seven hits in the series. White also tallied four stolen bases through the series.
- Cox led the Tritons with four RBIs in the series.
- Eckerd's bullpen combined for 15 strikeouts in the series. Grubbs led with six strikeouts through two games and 2.2 innings pitched. Ben Waxler fanned three in the day's closer.
UP NEXT
The Tritons are on the road to face conference rival Florida Southern next Friday at 6:00 PM at Henley Field in Lakeland, Fla.
