ST. PETERSBURG -- The Eckerd Tritons baseball team used a five-run eighth inning on Tuesday to surge past the No. 10 Florida Southern Mocs by a score of 6-2.
The visitors struck early with two runs in the opening frame, but both pitching staffs settled in and combined for three scoreless innings to keep the Mocs in front, 2-0, entering the fifth. Kam Gelwick put Eckerd on the board in the fifth with a solo home run to cut the deficit in half, while starter Nathan Norwood continued to limit the damage, holding the Mocs to two runs through five innings.
Rocco Calise took over on the mound in the seventh and worked around a pair of base runners to keep the Tritons within striking distance. Trailing 2-1 in the eighth, Eckerd saw the leadoff batter reach on a walk before Dawson Jones delivered a game-tying RBI double. Two batters later, Ean Gimson ripped a double down the right-field line to give the Tritons their first lead at 3-2. The momentum carried on as RBI hits from Christian Cabina, Hunter Rebhan, and Gelwick added insurance runs and pushed the advantage to 6-2 entering the final inning. Calise struck out two and worked around a one-out walk to close out the victory.
Eckerd totaled eight hits in the win, led by Gelwick's 3-for-4 performance at the plate. Rebhan also recorded a multi-hit game. Norwood struck out seven, while Calise earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief.
The Tritons improve to 4-3 on the season and will open a three-game home series against Embry-Riddle on Feb. 20.
