ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd softball team dropped its doubleheader against Barry as the Buccaneers completed the sweep with 1-0 and 6-3 victories at the Turley Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.
After over an hour delay, Olivia Johnson started off the day with a perfect inning. She threw another perfect inning in the fifth, for five innings of scoreless action for both teams. A solo homerun in the sixth by the Bucs' leadoff hitter Rushton would be the difference maker, as the Bucs took game one, 1-0 to clinch the series.
Game two began with a pair of unearned runs for the Bucs in the second frame for the 2-0 advantage. Eckerd equalized in the bottom of the third, bringing the tally to 2-2. Hannah Gordon laid down a sacrifice bunt to put Kinsley Castro and Gracie Cicarello in scoring position. Ella Coiner delivered an RBI groundout to give Eckerd its first run of the day before an RBI single by Mia Hernandez evened the score.
Barry answered back with four runs in the fourth for a 6-2 advantage. With neither team able to generate any offense for the next two innings, the Tritons found themselves trailing by four in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded and one out, Lauren Margolis was walked to shorten the deficit to three. The Tritons had two opportunities to walk the game off, but the Buccaneers closed the game without further damage, 6-3.
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
FINAL: Barry 1, Eckerd 0
WP: Barnhart (8-6) LP: Johnson (3-3) HR: Rushton
Game Two
FINAL: Barry 6, Eckerd 3
WP: Barnhart (9-6) LP: Benefield (0-2) S: Rosenberg (2)
RECORDS: Eckerd 9-18 (3-9 SSC); Barry 24-10 (9-3 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Margolis led with two hits on the day.
- Margolis, Hernandez, and Coiner each had an RBI in the finale.
- Jenna Bulcher went 1-for-1 as a pinch hitter in the finale.
- Brandilyn Reymer posted four strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work in the finale and allowed only one hit and no runs.
UP NEXT
Eckerd travels to Palm Beach Atlantic next week for their fifth conference series of the year. The first pitch for game one on Friday night is at 6:00 PM.
