ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd baseball team fell in the series opener to Florida Tech 12-7 at the Turley Athletic Complex on Friday night.
Eckerd had a strong start to the day, with Rocco Calise tossing a game-opening strikeout and closed the inning without allowing a hit. The Tritons were first on the board in the bottom of the frame with a stand-up RBI double by Christian Cabina and an RBI single by Dylan Escobar for Eckerd to jump out to a 2-0 lead. The Panthers quickly retaliated in the second, shrinking the deficit to one on a sacrifice fly. A sacrifice fly by Joey Bazydlo, and a two-run knock by Luis Garrido gave Eckerd the 5-1 favor.
The Panthers flipped the script in the third inning, putting up five runs to lead 6-5. They added three more over the next two innings, growing their lead to 9-5. A lead-off home run by Cabina in the fifth gave Eckerd a spark before the Panthers added three more runs, bringing their tally to 12.
Trailing by sixth in the ninth, the Tritons showed some life, with Escobar scoring shrinking the deficit to five. With the bases loaded and one out in the final frame, Eckerd had a chance to mount a comeback, but the former Triton Payton McIntosh closed the game for the Panthers with the last two Tritons going down swinging, as Eckerd fell 12-7.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Florida Tech 12, Eckerd 7
WP: Pino (4-1) LP: Calise (1-2) HR: FT - Burke (6), EC - Garrido (2), Cabina (2)
RECORDS: Eckerd 9-25 (4-12 SSC), Florida Tech 22-17 (12-10 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- The Tritons' pitching staff combined for 11 strikeouts on the night, Davian Giles led Eckerd's pitchers with five.
- Cabina and Garrido both had two-RBI nights, each also hitting their second homerun of the season.
- Dawson Jones led Eckerd with three hits, while Dylan Escobar and Joey Bazydlo both went 2-for-4.
UP NEXT
Eckerd continues the series with Florida Tech tomorrow at the Turley Athletic Complex, with game one of the doubleheader at 1:00 PM.
