ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd baseball team fell in its final two games at the Turley Athletic Complex, dropping both games of the doubleheader to Saint Leo 13-7 and 15-4 (8 innings) on Saturday afternoon.
Before the doubleheader, Eckerd celebrated the careers of four seniors: Mitch Henneberry, Rick Koch, Reid Lisle, and Nick Romagnola.
Eckerd opened game one in a 3-0 hole in the first inning. The Lions added another in the second for a 4-0 favor. However, the Tritons fought back within one in the bottom of the frame with three runs on a sacrifice fly by Joey Bazydlo, a single by Cole Schumaker, and another RBI by Coltin Pizzio. Saint Leo gave itself a security run in the third before regaining the four-run lead in the fifth. Eckerd put up another three-run frame in the bottom of the fifth, once again shortening the deficit to one, trailing 7-6.
Saint Leo pulled ahead by sixth by the seventh inning. A sacrifice fly by Reid Lisle brought the Triton tally to seven, but Eckerd dropped the opener 13-7 with the Lions adding one more in the final frame.
The Tritons fell behind in the opening frame of the finale 3-0. Dawson Jones put Eckerd on the board in the third. The Lions put up four straight two-run innings, while the Tritons were only able to string together a three-run inning in the fifth with RBI singles by Bazydlo, Jones, and Lisle. A four-run inning for the Lions allowed Saint Leo to lead by 11 runs. Eckerd could not answer in the bottom of the frame, with the game ending 15-4 in eight innings.
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
FINAL: Saint Leo 13, Eckerd 7
WP: Rudsinski (4-1) LP: Thomas (2-4) HR: Mass (2)
Game Two
FINAL: Saint Leo 15, Eckerd 4 (8 Innings)
WP: Racculia (7-6) LP: Norwood (1-5) HR: McDonald (2)
RECORDS: Eckerd 10-36 (5-22 SSC), Saint Leo 20-27 (10-17 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Luis Garrido and Jones each had four hits on the day, while Jones led the Tritons with three RBIs.
- Jones hit 3-for-5 in the day's opener, all three of his hits in the game were doubles.
- Lisle recorded an RBI in both games of the doubleheader.
- Eight Tritons recorded at least one hit on the day: Garrido, Kam Gelwick, Zade Stark, Jones, Lisle, Bazydlo, Schumaker, and Pizzio.
UP NEXT
Eckerd plays its final series next weekend at Embry-Riddle, with game one of the series set for Friday night at 6:00 PM in Daytona Beach, Fla.
