Box Score LAKELAND, Fla.—The Southeastern pitching staff did not allow an earned run in nine innings of work, helping the Fire knock of NCAA Division II Eckerd 5-3 Tuesday night at Broer Stadium.
Mike Ruppenthal set the table with a solid five innings of work, allowing just one hit. The junior struck out two and walked three, but coaxed seven groundouts out of the 15 batters he faced.
The Fire (27-14) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third on a two-out, two-run single to right field by Cody Hoffner. It looked like SEU was going to break the game open in the fifth with singles by T.J. Glessner and Willi Martin, and a walk to Luis Diaz loaded the bases with nobody out. A walk to Hoffner made it 3-0 in favor of the hosts, but three consecutive strikeouts eliminated the threat.
Ryder Albright came on for the Fire in the seventh, and the Tritons tied the game with three runs on three hits, however, none of the runs were earned due to a two-out error.
Southeastern answered back in the bottom half of the inning, getting a run on an RBI double by Ricky DeArmas. The Fire used a little trickery to get an insurance run in the inning. Sean Anderson made an early break to try to steal second, but fell down at the edge of the cutout. Dallas Ducote then came in to steal home as Anderson drew the attention away from Ducote.
F.T. Corso and Dylan Jameson each worked a shutout inning in relief, with Jameson earning his fifth save of the season in the process, striking out the final batter of the game. Albright picked up the win, his first of the season.
The Fire travel to Jacksonville on Friday to take on Trinity Baptist in a three-game series, opening with a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.
