ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd baseball team dropped both games of the doubleheader and the series to Palm Beach Atlantic on Sunday afternoon by scores of 4-3 and 3-1 at the Turley Athletic Complex.Â
Eckerd began the game up 1-0 when Alex Brazer reached on an error to bring home Tyler Cox in the first. After three scoreless innings, the Sailfish retaliated with a pair of runs to flip the score in their favor, 2-1, in the fifth.Â
Wil Stockman came in relief in the sixth and struck out four over two innings. The Sailfish added two more in the eighth for a 4-1 lead.
The Tritons rallied in the ninth, starting with an RBI single by Christian Perez to shorten the deficit to two. Cole Schumaker was walked to load the bases when Joe Wike reached on an error for Eckerd to score another run, only trailing by one. However, Eckerd, with the bases still loaded and a chance to send the game to extras, could not convert.
Rick Koch was strong on the mound to start game two for the Tritons, not allowing a hit until the fourth. After five innings of scoreless action, the Sailfish found themselves on the board with an RBI double. They added to their favor with a two-run single in the following inning for a comfortable 3-0 lead. Kam Gelwick opened the scoring for the Tritons in the seventh, bringing home Bradley White, with the Tritons trailing by two.Â
With a runner on in the bottom of the ninth, Eckerd had three chances to tie the ball game. However, the Tritons could not complete the comeback, falling 3-1.Â
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
FINAL: Palm Beach Atlantic 4, Eckerd 3
WP: Webster (2-0) LP: Cox (0-1)Â S: Beebe (2)Â
Game Two
FINAL: Palm Beach Atlantic 3, Eckerd 1
WP: Langfelder (2-2)Â LP: Henneberry (0-1)Â S: Murray (1)
RECORDS: Eckerd 11-15 (3-9 SSC); Palm Beach Atlantic 8-18 (4-8 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERSÂ
- Cox and Collier each registered three hits on the day. Cox led the Tritons with six hits in the series.Â
- Gelwick led with three RBIs in the series.
- Eckerd's pitching staff combined for nine strikeouts in the day's opener. Cox had a season-high four strikeouts, and Stockman had a season-high five.Â
UP NEXTÂ
Eckerd returns to Friday for their final non-conference matchup of the season with a series against Southern Wesleyan University (S.C.) with first pitch of the doubleheader at 2:00 PM.Â