FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - After dropping the day's opener 12-10 in extras, the Eckerd baseball team bounced back to close its season with a victory, 9-4, at Nova Southeastern on Saturday.
The Tritons opened the day with a four-run inning in the first game. Reid Lisle stole home to get the Tritons on the board, before a pair of doubles by Kyle Ericson and Peter Stavrakos brought home one and two runs, respectively. The Sharks evened the tally with their second grandslam of the series in the bottom of the frame to knot the game at four.
Nova Southeastern followed in the second to take its first lead of the game, 5-4, on a RBI single to right field. A bases-loaded walk for the Tritons in the third brought Eckerd back to tie the game at five. Nova took back the lead in the fifth, adding three runs for an 8-6 advantage.
A valiant effort by the Tritons in the late innings allowed Eckerd to work up to a 10-8 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. A bases-loaded walk for the Sharks saw them trail only by one, before they tied the game at 10 to send the contest to extras. A two-run homer in the tenth sealed the victory for the Sharks 12-10.
Eckerd was once again first on the board in the series finale with an RBI sacrifice fly by Ericson for the 1-0 tilt in the first. The Sharks tied it at one in the bottom of the second before an RBI single by Christian Perez in the third brought Eckerd back in the lead, 2-1. The Tritons gave themselves a nice cushion in the middle innings, working up to an 8-1 lead by the seventh inning stretch with RBIs from Alex Brazer, Ericson, Jake Fajardo, Cam Collier and Joe Wike.
The Sharks added three runs in the eighth to chip away for an 8-4 deficit. Ericson added one more insurance run in the ninth before Tyler Cox closed the game without any further damage for the Tritons to take the final game of the season 9-4.
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
FINAL: Nova Southeastern 12, Eckerd 10 (10 Innings)
WP: Dillon (2-0) LP: Lizewski (0-1) HR: Collier (8), Wachs, Wallen
Game Two
FINAL: Eckerd 9, Nova Southeastern 4
WP: Tyler Cox (2-3) LP: Nolasco (3-5)
RECORDS: Eckerd 18-31 (6-24 SSC); Nova Southeastern 28-18 (18-12 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- The Tritons turned seven double plays in the series, with five on the day.
- Cox closed out his Triton career on the mound with a complete-game victory with one strikeout and no walks while facing 36 batters through nine innings. His first complete game of the season.
- Wil Stockman led Tritons' pitchers on the day with three strikeouts over three innings pitched in the day's opener.
- Jake Fajardo went 2-for-2 with two RBIs in the finale.
- Ericson led the Tritons with four RBIs in the series, three of the four coming in the finale.
- Cole Schumaker added eight hits in the series.
- The game marked the ends of the careers of Eckerd's 15 seniors: Austin Kapela, Kyle Abbott, Cam Collier, Gavin Grubbs, Darius Bradley, Wil Stockman, Kyle Ericson, Tucker Shalley, Ben Waxler, Tyler Cox, Tyler Young, Rene Ramos, Jake Fajardo, Peter Stavrakos, and Joe Wike.
