ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – The American International College baseball team won an epic come-from-behind 10-inning 17-16 victory over Eckerd College on Tuesday, March 11.
AIC is now 5-4 on the season.
Small ball scored AIC the game's first run. Brendan Edvardsen walked, and two batters later Leandro Guevara singled to right. Nick Serce was hit by a pitch to pack the bags, and Josh Frometa's groundout to second pushed Edvardsen home.
The Tritons scored four times in the second and once in the third before AIC put another tally on the board in the fourth. Frometa walked and Yeudy Ramirez singled; after both advanced on a wild pitch, Kiernan Caffrey hit a sacrifice fly to center. However, Eckerd countered that run with three of its own for an 8-2 advantage.
AIC responded with a big fifth frame. Cole Patterson and Edvardsen both walked, and then Sam Tanous singled to score Patterson. A failed pickoff allowed Edvardsen to come home as well. Three batters later, Frometa singled and Ramirez walked, loading the bases for Caffrey, who smacked a two-run single to center. AIC had cut the gap to 8-6.
Just as quickly, the Tritons rebounded. They scored three in the fifth and three more in the sixth, taking a commanding 14-6 lead.
Down, but not out, AIC went to work in the seventh. Guevara and Serce walked, and Frometa singled to pack the bags with no outs. Ramirez, Caffrey, Segura, and Patterson each churned out singles as well, with the first three driving in one and Patterson knocking two in. A pitching change did not change Eckerd's fortunes, either, as Edvardsen singled in another run, Tanous reached on an error that scored a run, and Guevara bounced into a double play but Patterson scored to tie the game at 14-14.
In the ninth, AIC regained the lead for the first time. Patterson reached on a two-base error and Edvardsen was hit by a pitch. After a failed sacrifice bunt and a strikeout, a wild pitch pushed Edvardsen to third and Tanous to second. Serce bounced to the mound, but the pitcher could not handle the ball, and two runs scored.
The Tritons now faced a loss, and did not blink, with three hits to drive two runs in, although they left the winning run at second on a two-out flyout.
As the Sunshine State Conference uses the international tiebreaker rule, AIC began the 10th with Frometa standing at second. Ramirez bounced out, allowing Frometa to advance, and he scored two batters later on a Segura groundout.
The Tritons were given the same chance as AIC, and laid a bunt single down to put men at the corners. After a flyout and a stolen base, the home side had the tying run 90 feet away and the potential winning run in scoring position. Tanous had other ideas, however, snaring a grounder and firing a perfect throw home to cut down the runner trying to score from third, and Romel Roca struck out the final batter of the game to win it for AIC.
In total, Roca grabbed his second win with a 3.0 inning performance, allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts. Caffrey led AIC with four RBI, while Edvardsen and Frometa each scored four times.
The two teams will face off again on Wednesday, March 12 at 6:00 p.m.
