General Feb 20, 2018

Lions Ledger: Baseball, basketballs, and tennis take over midweek action

Feb. 20 at Eckerd | 6:00 PM
Where: Turley Athletic Complex | St. Petersburg, Fla.
Records: SLU 6-2 | EC 5-2
Website: SLU | EC

Baseball Notes

Saint Leo heads to Eckerd for a midweek non-conference game Tuesday after winning the series against West Alabama, two games to one. The Lions defeated the Tigers 9-6 in the series finale, which marked head coach Rick O'Dette's 500th career coaching win.
The Lions stand at 6-2 and were ranked sixth in the first NCBWA regional rankings, announced Feb. 19.
Brett Coffel leads the team from the box with a .387 batting average on the year. Coffel has 12 hits, four runs scored, one double, one triple and two home runs.
Eckerd enters Tuesday's matchup with a 5-2 record and on a three-game win streak with its most recent series sweep of Claflin Feb. 17-18.
Sam Cochrane leads the Tritons from the plate with a .417 average with 10 hits, 11 runs scored, two doubles and one homerun.

Feb. 21 vs Florida Southern | 3:00 PM
Where: Saint Leo Tennis Center | Saint Leo, Fla.
Records: SLU 3-0, 1-0 SSC | FSC 1-1, 1-1 SSC
Website: SLU | FSC

Women's Tennis Notes

No. 24 Saint Leo upset No. 14 Nova Southeastern 6-3 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Saturday.
At NSU, Andrada Gordan won third doubles with partner Sophie Vliestra 8-4. Gordan continued her work in six singles with a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
No. 17 Florida Southern enters the match 1-1 after dropping a 6-3 decision to No. 1 Lynn on Friday.
The Mocs took first and third doubles at Lynn along with fifth singles.

Feb. 21 vs Florida Southern | 3:00 PM
Where: Saint Leo Tennis Center | Saint Leo, Fla.
Records: SLU 2-0 | FSC 0-2
Website: SLU | FSC

Men's Tennis Notes

No. 7 Saint Leo hosts Florida Southern after downing No. 11 Flagler on Sunday (6-3).
Junior Thomas Grinberg took first doubles against Flagler with Vincent Suillerot, 8-3. He followed his performance with a 6-2, 6-2 first singles. For his work, he was named Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week, his first of his career.
Florida Southern is still looking to earn its first win of the 2018 season. The 0-2 Mocs dropped an 8-1 decision to Flagler on Thursday followed by a 7-0 loss to Stetson on Saturday.

Saint Leo remains undefeated in the month of February, earning a four game winning streak after facing Florida Tech (62-54), Nova Southeastern (55-52), Barry (68-61) and Lynn (58-45).
Nikira Hooks has scored 59 points (19.7 PPG) over the last three games. On Saturday, she earned a double double with 17 points, 10 rebounds. On the season, she averages 8.8 points, 5.7 rebounds per game.
Alani Gallagher scored 11 points, grabbed nine rebounds on Saturday at Lynn. On the season, she leads the Lions in scoring and rebounding per game with 9.0 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game.
Eckerd also holds a four-game winning streak after facing Lynn (72-57), Nova Southeastern (79-47), Embry-Riddle (72-67) and Rollins (79-62).
Eckerd's offensive is driven by Kacie Juday, Zoe Richards, Chelsea Johnson, Yarden Danan. Juday averages 12.4 points per game followed by Richards averaging 11.4 PPG, Johnson scoring 10.6 PPG, Danan with 10.5 PPG. Off the boards, Juday averages 8.4 rebounds per game. Ada Yalcin is the Tritons playmaker, averaging 4.8 assists per game.
Last meeting: Eckerd defeated Saint Leo 54-45. Nikira Hooks and Delaney Bernard both turned in a 10-point performances. For the Tritons, Zoe Richards scored 13 points while Yarden Danan tallied 11.

Saint Leo enters the midweek contest with a 12-17, 8-10 mark in the SSC after its most recent loss at Lynn.
The Lions fell 77-68 on the road after closing the game on a 13-3 run. Kyran McClure paced the Green and Gold with 16 points on the night.
On the year, Isaiah Hill leads the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game, just ahead of DeAndre King, 11.9 ppg and Junior Searcy, 11.8 ppg. Hill leads the team in rebounding with 5.1 rebounds per game.
Eckerd welcomes the Lions with a 19-6, 12-6 SSC record with a 85-80 win at Rollins in their last outing.
The Tritons were led by Trevon Young who scored 21 points ahead of Drushaun McLaurn's 17.
On the year, McLaurn paces the team with 19.4 points per game while Young averages 17.6 ppg and 9.7 rebounds per game.