ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd softball team opened the season with a doubleheader split with No. 16 East Stroudsburg (Pa.), dropping the opener 4-2 before erupting for a 14-5 five-inning win in the finale highlighted by three homeruns at the Turley Athletic Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
East Stroudsburg opened the first game with a pair of runs in the first inning for a 2-0 lead before making it a 3-0 favor in the fourth. ESU kept the EC bats at bay until the fifth inning, where the Tritons rallied for two runs as a run scored on an error and Hannah Taylor delivered an RBI single.
The Warrior added a run in the seventh and Eckerd was unable to rally in the final inning, falling 4-2.
In the finale, the Warriors struck first with a run in the opening frame again. However, Eckerd rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame and never looked back, with a run scoring on a wild pitch and an RBI double by Ella Coiner.
EC erupted for five runs in the second frame with runs coming off an error, wild pitch, Coiner RBI single, and Addisan Langston two-run homer. ESU rallied in the third with four runs to pull within three.
The Tritons unleashed in the fourth for seven runs via a Taylor homerun, a two-run shot by Ellie Baldwin, and RBIs from Ava Planeta, Coiner, and Taylor again. Julia Heter closed the door in the fifth for the run-rule victory,
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
FINAL: No. 16 ESU 4, Eckerd 2
WP: Davenport (1-0) LP: Reymer (0-1)
Game Two
FINAL: Eckerd 14, No. 16 ESU 5 (5 Innings)
WP: Heter (1-0) LP: Lake (0-1) HR: Taylor (1), Langston (1), Baldwin (1), Master (1)
RECORDS: Eckerd 1-1; ESU 1-1
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Ella Coiner recorded her 100th career hit with her double to start the second game.
- Taylor went 4-for-6 on the day with a homerun and three RBIs.
- Lex Difato added three hits on the day, while Coiner added three in the finale with four RBIs.
- Baldwin made her collegiate debut, recording her first career homerun in the second game.
- Planeta, Heter, and Maddie Bostack made their collegiate debuts.
- Heter earned the win in the final, striking out four over five innings.
UP NEXT
Eckerd returns to action on Thursday, hosting New College of Florida for a doubleheader at 6:00 PM.
