ST. PETERSBURG -- The Eckerd Tritons baseball team will begin its 2026 campaign when they welcome the Flagler Saints for a three-game series beginning on Friday, Jan. 30.
Eckerd is looking to improve upon a 10-34 record a season ago and will return a large chunk of key contributors from 2025 this year. The team's top hitter,
Dawson Jones, returns after leading the Tritons with a .340 batting average in 43 games played. Jones was also the team leader in doubles with 15, and hit one home run to go with a 18 runs batted on.
Luis Garrido is also back for Eckerd after batting .309 in 2025, also collecting double-digit doubles with 10.
Christian Cabina and
Kam Gelwick each collected 20-plus RBI last year and return for the Tritons in 2026. Gelwick also tied for the team lead in home runs last season with five.
On the mound, strikeout leaders
Jacob Thomas and
Rocco Calise are back in 2026 after posting 42 apiece in a year ago.
Flagler enters the new season after a 30-20 record in 2025. The Saints saw their season come to an end after back-to-back one-run losses in the Peach Belt Conference tournament. The team closed out 2025 with four losses in their final five games and posted a sub-.500 record away from home on the season.Â
This year marks the fifth straight that the Tritons and Saints will meet. Flagler swept a three-game set at home in 2025.
Start time for Friday's game is set for 6 p.m., with Saturday's doubleheader scheduled for 12 p.m. Live video and stat links can be found on eckerdtritons.com.
