St. Petersburg, Fla. (March 2) -- The Saint Anselm baseball team dropped its second-straight game with a 13-9 loss to Eckerd College at Turley Field on Sunday afternoon. The loss drops the Hawks to 1-2, while the win improves Eckerd to 8-10.

The Hawks jumped on the board in the top of the first with a pair of runs to take an early 2-0 lead. Adam Hussey (Danvers, Mass.), Dave Wirkus (Orange, Conn.), and Ben Gunn (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) walked in succession to start the inning with Eckerd's starting pitcher, Ricky Clavetti (Sarasota, Fla.), struggling to find the strike zone. Ryan Gargan's (Byfield, Mass.) sacrifice fly brought in Hussey, then Wirkus scored on a throwing error by Eckerd's catcher, Cory Sylvester (Tampa, Fla.).

Eckerd struck for a single run in the bottom of the second, as Matt Heller (Bradenton, Fla.) doubled, advanced to third on a ground ball, and scored on a past ball. Eckerd then picked up three runs in the fourth inning. Mike Alvarez (Lutz, Fla.) led off the inning with a double, and Jeff Bromley (Tampa, Fla.) walked. After a double steal moved both runners up a base, Alvarez scored on a past ball, tying up the game at two apiece. Tim Lorek (Snellville, Ga.) grounded to short, but Hussey's errant throw allowed Lorek to reach base and Bromley to score with Eckerd taking the 3-2 lead. Lorek scored later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Heller.

Eckerd then struck for two more runs in the fifth inning, taking a 6-2 lead. Mike Sinicola (Warwick, R.I.) reached base on error and Jarrett Mackin (Andover, Mass.) sacrificed to move Sinicola up to second. After a wild pitch allowed Sinicola to move up to second, Matt Abraham (Worcester, Mass.) reached base on error and Sinicola scored on the play. Alvarez grounded out to short later in the inning, allowing Abraham to score.

The bleeding continued for the Hawks into the sixth inning, as Eckerd struck for four runs. Lorek singled to open up the inning and later scored on a fielder's choice. Sylvester singled in Heller, while Sinicola's ground ball to second scored Chris Clinton (Seminole, Fla.). Pinch-hitter Tyler Howard's (Manchester, N.H.) sacrifice fly brought in Sylvester to put Eckerd up 10-2.

The Hawks refused to give in though, scoring seven runs to bring the game back within one in the top of the seventh inning. Evan Kelleher (Haverhill, Mass.) walked and Eric Baca (Franklin, N.H.) singled to start the inning. Hussey singled in Kelleher later in the inning. Wirkus then doubled, scoring Baca. Gargan singled down the left field line, scoring Wirkus and Hussey. Melvin Purdue (Jonesboro, Ga.) singled, and Gargan scored on a fielding error. Kelleher singled in his second at-bat of the inning, scoring Ryan O'Rourke (Norwood, Mass.). Baca then doubled for his second hit on the inning, scoring Purdue and bringing the Hawks back to within one at 10-9.

Eckerd picked up two runs in the seventh and another run in the eighth to put the Hawks away, 13-9. Gargan finished the day two-for-three with three RBI, while Hussey and Baca also both had two hits apiece. Mike Fantini (Haverhill, Mass.) picked up the loss for the Hawks, going 5.1 allowing six hits and four earned runs and striking out two. 

The Hawks return to the diamond tomorrow, taking on Southern Connecticut on the campus of Saint Leo University in Saint Leo, Fla. for a non-conference game at 10 a.m.