AMERICUS, Ga. -- The Eckerd Tritons softball team went 1-1 on the final day of the Cougar-Hurricane Classic, falling to the Mars Hill Lions by a score of 4-2 before defeating the Georgia Southwestern Hurricanes by a final of 8-1.
In a busy opening inning against Mars Hill, the Tritons struck first as Hannah Taylor drove in Lex Difato with an RBI double to give Eckerd a 1-0 lead. Mars Hill responded with three unearned runs in the bottom half to take a 3-1 advantage entering the second inning.
After a scoreless second, the Lions added another run in the bottom of the third. Eckerd answered in the fifth to cut the deficit to two. Singles from Difato and Taylor set the stage for an RBI fielder's choice by Ella Coiner that brought Difato home. The Tritons put a runner in scoring position in the sixth, but the 4-2 score held through the final out.
Both teams finished with six hits in the contest.
In game two against Georgia Southwestern, the Tritons again struck in their opening at-bat. Difato led off with a triple and later moved into scoring position alongside another runner after a walk and stolen base. Two batters later, Faith Wharton doubled to center to plate both runners and give Eckerd a 2-0 lead.
Brandilyn Reymer got the start in the circle and worked around two hits in the first inning by striking out the side, part of a 15-strikeout performance. The Hurricanes trimmed the margin to one in the bottom of the inning, but Eckerd responded with back-to-back home runs from Taylor and Coiner in the third to build a three-run cushion.
Following consecutive scoreless frames, the Tritons added a run in the sixth and three more in the seventh. Following a leadoff walk to Jazz Jones, Kaili Cannon drove her in with a single to right-center. Coiner followed with an RBI infield single before Cannon capped the scoring with a two-run base hit to center. Reymer struck out the final three batters to secure the 8-1 victory.
Reymer's 15 strikeouts are a career high and the most by any Eckerd player since at least 2006.
Eckerd wil be back in action next weekend to begin SSC play against Embry-Riddle.
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