ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs (3-8) dropped a pair of games, 8-4 and 5-4, to the Eckerd College Tritons (9-9) on Monday afternoon at Turley Athletic Complex.
In game one,
Jillian Noel got the offense rolling early, sending a double to the right field fence with two outs to score
Shelby Bloemendaal and take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
The Tritons claimed their first lead of the game in the bottom of the inning, sending a three-run shot to right center one pitch after being gifted a stolen base due to an obstruction call for a 3-1 lead.
Eckerd struck again in the second with a solo homer to right, but the Mustangs chipped away in the third.
After a pair of singles and a sac bunt put
Abby Russell at third and
Riley Kramolisch at second, Noel drove in Russell on a ground out, and
Molly Bull smashed a two-out double to left to score Kramolisch to make it 4-3 EC.
After a pair of pop outs to open the bottom of the inning, EC strung together a single and RBI double to grow its lead to 5-3.
Eckerd added a pair of runs in the fourth. The next Mustang run came in the sixth as Kramolisch sent a single up the middle, scoring
Katie Palmer from second after the Mustangs got an obstruction call at the plate in their favor.
Eckerd got the run right back in the bottom of the inning with an RBI groundout, bringing the game to its final score.
Kramolisch, Bloemendaal, Noel, and Bull led the offense with two hits apiece.
Bloemendaal (0-3) was dealt the loss in the circle, allowing seven runs, all earned, on 12 hits while collecting one strikeout.
Morgyn Otte entered the game in relief, throwing a pair of innings and allowing an earned run on two hits and a walk.
Eckerd scattered five runs across the first four innings of game two while putting up four 0's against the Mustang bats to hold a 5-0 lead.
SMSU clawed back in the fifth, opening with a Palmer single,
Ella Culhane reaching on an error, and
Abby Russell drawing a walk to load the bases. Kramolisch brought in the first run of the on a fielder's choice, and Bloemendaal loaded the bases back up with a single.
Noel kept the offense rolling with an RBI single to right, and Bull sent a smash up the middle to score two more and bring the Mustangs within one at 5-4.
Allison Christians (1-1) kept the Mustangs in the game in the bottom of the inning, working around a pair of leadoff walks to keep the score at 5-4.
The Mustangs threatened for a final time after a pair of two-out singles in the sixth but couldn't get the tying run across.
Christian was dealt the loss, going five innings and allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits while walking five and striking out four. Otte came into the game in relief again, throwing a 1-2-3 sixth inning.
Bull, Boxrud, and Palmer all collected a pair of hits, while Bull added two RBI to lead the offense.
SMSU returns to the diamond on Tuesday, traveling for a doubleheader against the No. 3-ranked Tampa starting at 2 p.m. ET.
