WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Baseball) - Florida Tech (14-10) exploded in Game 1 during Saturday's doubleheader at Rubin Park, as the Crimson and Gray knocked out Palm Beach Atlantic, 10-6. In Game 2, the Panthers missed by a hair's breadth which gave the "W" to PBA, 4-3.

The Panthers collected 16 hits on the day, of which three were extra base. John Sternagel, Grant McKown, Reid Neal and Dan Szpik led the Panthers in the box, firing collectively nine of the 16 total hits. Trent Masih and Ryan Sinzenich batted in three runners apiece, the highest recorded for FIT during the day.

The Crimson and Gray started Game 1 motoring past the Sailfish. Sternagel welcomed on the mound the PBA pitcher by flaring a double to the deep left center. Kevin Capella then pushed his fellow teammate to third dropping a sac-bunt, while Neal drove a groundball to the opposite field, allowing Sternagel to cross home plate.

With the Panthers leading by one, the home team did not take long to erase the gap, tying up the game right away. Palm Beach took the lead in the third, as the Sailfish put another run on the board with an RBI double.

The fourth went scoreless for both line-ups, but the FIT bats broke through in the top of the fifth, as they shot fire on the Sailfish mound by clawing seven runs. McKown tallied the first run of the inning with a single to center field. Under pressure, the PBA relief pitcher walked Szpik, moving the FIT runners on the bases, which allotted one more run to the Panthers.

With bases loaded, Sinzenich blasted a double down the right field line, cleaning up the bases and bumping Florida Techs margin, 6-2. The Panthers bats were hot, and FIT snatched other two runs on a single to the left side by Masih.

With Masih's two RBI, the Crimson and Gray were overpowering the Sailfish, 8-2. However, the Panthers were still hunting for runs and a shaky performance by the PBA second relief allowed FIT to tack two more runs on the board.

The Sailfish attempted to rally and picked up three runs in the bottom of the sixth. PBA shortened the distance in the seventh, as they got themselves on the scoreboard with another run. Colin Cristello blanked the Palm Beach offense for the final two innings, as he ministered the Panthers defense to force the Sailfish to bow-down, 10-6.

In Game 2, the Panthers drew first blood, as FIT put two on the scoreboard in the top of the second. A back-to-back single by Kevin Capella and Pedro Rivera allowed FIT to reach base with no outs.

Catcher Zac Orchard then reached base on a throwing error by the PBA pitcher, allowing Rivera and Capella to place themselves in scoring position. A second error came from the Sailfish pitcher, as Capella reached home plate on a balk. The Crimson and Gray were now ahead, 1-0, when Sternagel drove a grounder to the right side, pushing home Rivera.

The Sailfish fought back, and put themselves on the board in the bottom of the third picking up one run. Florida Tech had the fourth, fifth, and sixth frames scoreless, while the Sailfish took the lead by seizing three runs in the bottom of the sixth.

The Panthers fired back in the top of the seventh, as Sternagel hit his fourth seasonal sac-fly to rush in left fielder Rivera. FIT kept fighting in the eighth and ninth, but eventually kneeled to PBA, 4-3.

Florida Tech will face the Sailfish at home on Mar. 21 at Andy Seminick Les-Hall Field. The teams will lineup at 6 p.m. ET. For more coverage and info, fans can access FloridaTechSports.com/live.