ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Hannah Taylor (RBIs) and Lex Difato (singles) set a pair of single-season records as the Eckerd softball team dominated Palm Beach Atlantic in a pair of games Saturday afternoon to sweep the series at the Turley Athletic Complex. The Tritons added eight extra-base hits on the day to take the opener 9-3 and the finale 9-4.
Eckerd took the lead early with a Molly Scott RBI in the second inning. Taylor made it a 3-0 tilt in the next frame with a two-run homer to left center. PBA tacked on a run in the fourth, but Eckerd got two back in the bottom of the frame on a wild pitch and a record-setting RBI single from Taylor. PBA added a pair of runs in the fifth but Taylor respond with her second homer of the game, a three-run blast, followed by a solo shot from Addisan Langston for a 9-3 win.
PBA took an early lead with a pair of runs in the first frame of the finale. EC answered one of the runs in the bottom of the inning before erupting for five runs in the second, highlighted by three consecutive RBI doubles by Taylor, Ella Coiner, and Langston.
EC tacked on an insurance run in the fourth and two in the fifth. PBA added two runs in the fifth but Brandilyn Reymer shut down the Sailfish in the final 1.2 innings for the save.
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
FINAL: Eckerd 9, PBA 3
WP: Reymer (10-7) LP: Marty (2-3) HR: Taylor 2 (9), Langston ()
Game Two
FINAL: Eckerd 9, PBA 4
WP: Founds (4-3) LP: Zimmerman (0-2) S: Reymer (2)
RECORDS: Eckerd 22-13 (11-7 SSC); Palm Beach Atlantic 8-15 (2-13 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Eckerd outscored the Sailfish 27-9 in the series.
- Taylor went 7-for-8 on the day with eight RBIs, adding six RBIs alone in the opener. She finished the series 9-for-13 with eight RBIs and four runs.
- Difato went 6-for-7 in the twinbill with six runs. She went 8-for-10 in the series with eight runs.
- Ashley Cain added three hits in game one, while Langston added two in the finale.
- With her third RBI in game one, Taylor set the single-season RBI record at 42, breaking Sherry Howell's mark from 1990.
- With five singles on the day, Difato set the single-season singles record at 50, breaking Amy Kilbert's record from 2001.
- Reymer earned the win in game one allowing just two earned runs while striking out seven. She collected the save in the finale over 1.2 innings, allowing just one hit with three strikeouts.
- Reese Founds earned the win in the finale, allowing two earned runs over 5.1 innings with four strikeouts.
- Eckerd moves to 11 SSC wins on the year, tying the program record for SSC wins in a season. The mark has been reached three other times (1987, 2016, and 2018)
- The Tritons 22 wins are the most since the 2016 season and the fourth most in program history.
UP NEXT
Eckerd faces a bye week in action and returns to play on April 8 with a doubleheader at Edward Waters (Fla.) at 3:00 PM.
