MELBOURNE, Fla. (Softball) - Florida Tech upset No. 22 Caldwell with a 5-4 win in the eighth and overpowered Kuztown University 5-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Nancy Bottge Field.

Alexus Smith, Krista Patterson and Hailey Leonard led the Panthers in the box as offensive stats leaders. Smith ended the day with a 6-for-9 performance with three RBIs and three doubles. Patterson went 3-for-6 with three doubles and two RBIs. Leonard had an impressive 4-for-5 at the plate, recording a triple, a homerun and two RBIs.

Florida Tech scored the first run of game one on a productive series at bat in the bottom of the fourth. Leonard opened up the inning by flaring a triple down the right field line but she was eventually tagged out on the play at home. With two outs, senior Karina Suicava reached first with a single to left field and shortstop Patterson launched a double to right center to tie the game for FIT 1-1. 

The Cougars scored two more runs in the top of the fifth and the Crimson and Gray answered back in the home half snatching one more run thanks to a sac-fly by Leonard that drove home Palmer. Caldwell increased its lead by two in the top of the sixth. FIT stepped to the plate and decreased the gap by putting one more run on the scoreboard with another double by Patterson.

At the bottom of the seventh, with a 4-3 score, Leonard stepped into the box and blasted a solo homerun to tie the game at 4-4 that kept the Panthers alive. After Suicava put down a sacrifice bunt to push Rachel Kraak to third in the bottom of the eighth, the freshman scored the game-winning run on a single to right center by Smith that credited the Panthers with a 6-5 win.

Amanda Khan (4-4) earned her fourth victory of the season, pitching two innings and allowing no hits and no runs.

In game two, the Panthers lineup sparked through the seven innings played, defeating the Golden Bears 5-2. FIT snatched the first two runs at the bottom of the first with a double by Patterson that drove home Katie Maiello and a defensive error by KU, which allowed Patterson to cross the plate.

The Crimson and Gray put themselves on the board again at the bottom of the second when Kraak pushed Vanessa Rubio home with a single through the left side and Smith drove Suicava home with a single down the left field line.

At the bottom of the third, Florida Tech scratched another run thanks to a wild pitch by the Golden Bears pitcher, which allowed Patterson to score. At the top of the seventh, Kuztown was able to close the gap by scoring two runs but Rachel Pence closed the game quick and sealed the win for FIT.

Pence (9-9) gained her ninth win of the year, allotting two runs on three hits in seven inning pitched while striking out seven.

The Panthers will be back in action at the Nancy Bottge Field this Friday, Mar. 17, against Palm Beach Atlantic. The first pitch is set for 3 p.m. ET. Access live coverage at FloridaTechSports.com/live.