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Box Score 2 SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo senior pitcher Michael Dunnigan had a storybook performance in his final home start for the Lions, posting a 5-3 complete game Senior Day victory over the Tritons in game one of a Sunshine State Conference doubleheader at Thomas B. Southard Stadium.
Saint Leo (27-19, 10-11 SSC) was unable to complete the doubleheader and series sweep over Eckerd, dropping the final game, 10-9.
Dunnigan scattered five hits and fanned six Eckerd batters in the first game of the twinbill, retiring the Tritons in order in the second, sixth, seventh, and ninth innings. He improved to 3-2 on the season with his third career complete game effort; the victory was also the 24th career win for the right-hander, giving him sole possession of second place among Saint Leo career victories leaders.
Junior Troy Sieber keyed most of the run support for Dunnigan, belting a pair of two-run home runs. Sieber's first round-tripper was a blast to left-center field in the first inning, which plated Shane Williams for a 2-0 Saint Leo lead.
Eckerd (16-23, 4-14 SSC) responded with a pair of runs in the third off a Nick Hill double and a Mitch Calandra single, knotting the game at 2-2.
The Lions regained a 5-2 lead in the third. Derek Gibree got aboard with a leadoff double, and later scored on Williams' one-out single up the middle. Sieber then scored Williams on his second blast of the day, a shot to right field.
Hill's solo home run in the fifth trimmed the Saint Leo lead to two runs, but the Tritons stranded two runners later in the fifth and did not get a base runner past first over the remaining four innings.
Sieber finished the game 3-for-3 with two runs and four RBI. His two home runs versus the Tritons gives him 28 for his career, one shy of third place among Saint Leo career leaders. Williams went 2-for-4 versus Eckerd in game one.
Calandra paced the Tritons at the plate with a 3-for-4 ledger.
In game two, Eckerd scored eight runs over the final two innings, including six runs in the ninth, to spoil Saint Leo's efforts at the sweep.
Saint Leo held a 4-0 lead after three innings, with two of those runs coming off Mike Mann's homer to left field in the second. Eckerd clawed back into the contest with a two-run uprising in the top of the seventh, keyed by Justin Glover's solo home run to leadoff the frame. That was followed by Hill's double to center later in the inning which scored Nick Conti.
The Lions added onto their two-run lead with five more runs in the bottom of the seventh on two hits, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch batter. Senior Zach Daley capped the effort with a grand slam home run to right field, and Saint Leo headed into the final two innings with a 9-2 advantage.
Eckerd put two runs on the scoreboard in the eighth, both unearned, on singles by Glover and Garrett Hiott and one Saint Leo error. That pulled the Tritons to within five of the Lions, 9-4.
The Tritons posted six more runs in the ninth on five hits and an error, taking a 10-9 lead into the home half of the inning. Sieber got aboard with a one out single and advanced to second on a two-out walk drawn by Williams in the Saint Leo end of the ninth, but the Lions were unable to get the game-tying run across.
Sieber posted another 3-for-3 game at the plate, giving him a 6-for-6 ledger for the day. Mata and Mann each had a hit with two runs batted in in game two, while Daley finished with one hit and five RBI.
Hiott, Hill, and Glover all had three-hit games for the Tritons, with Glover logging four RBI.
Saint Leo has a 12-day wait until it takes the field again, when it faces Florida Southern on Friday, May 13, at 6:00 p.m. in Lakeland, Fla. The series with the Mocs will conclude on Saturday, May 14, with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.
For more on the Saint Leo baseball program, visit SaintLeoLions.com. Also, be sure to 'Like' the Lions on Facebook and 'Follow' Saint Leo Athletics on Twitter and Instagram.
