MELBOURNE, Fla. (Baseball) - Florida Tech opens the first game of the three game series with a 7-2 win over the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field on Friday night.

Leading the Panthers was Nick Capra who drove in three runs at three at-bats with a hit and a sacrifice fly. Not far behind, Reid Neal went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double in the 7th that brought in two runs. Also aiding in offensive efforts were John Sternagel and Grant McKown, both driving in one RBI a piece. McKown also registered 10 putouts at first base, while Ryan Sinzenich collected eight behind the plate.  
Defensively taking the win for FIT was Ty Cohen. He pitched six innings, struck out two and allowed only one run with no walks against 25 batters.

At the start of the game, Lincoln Memorial scored their first run early off a single to right field but ended the inning with two left on base. The score remained the same until the bottom of the fifth inning when FIT took the lead. Batting eighth in the lineup, Capra stepped to the plate and hit a high ball to center field for a sacrifice fly that sent James Gronberg home. Sternagel generated the second run with a hard hit double to the center fielder that brought in Trent Masih from first base. 

Forwarded to the seventh inning the Panthers reach the scoreboard yet again with three runs off of two hits. Scores came from Neal and McKown, both with hard hits to left field to close the inning. In the eighth, the Railsplitters managed to collect another run; but ultimately the Panthers capped off the win with Capra's single to right field that brought in two more runs. Closing out the ninth, Drew Beyer allowed only one hit with the help of Sternagel, Masih, and McKown who completed a 6-4-3 ground double play.

The Panthers continue the series on Saturday against the Railsplitters with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. ET at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field. Fans can access live coverage of the action at floridatechsports.com/live