ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Baseball) – Florida Tech (29-19, SSC 13-9) topped the Eckerd Tritons 5-3, in a nail biting Game 1 to start the weekend series at the Turley Athletic Complex.
At the plate, veteran
Reid Neal led the Panthers offense concluding the night with a 3-for-4 performance, while crowning by his 10 seasonal home run. Fellow teammates
Ryan Sinzenich and
Trent Masih joined in the FIT firepower collecting two hits on three at bats apiece. In addition, Masih collected his first seasonal home run and batted in two runners.
On the mound,
Colin Cristello clutched his third seasonal win, as the sophomore out of Venice, Florida struck out three with no runs and no hits in two innings pitched. Junior
Drew Beyer sealed the Crimson and Gray win allotting no runs, no hits and four strikeouts for his seventh seasonal save.
After a delayed start, Game 1 saw the Tritons drawing first blood in the third, as the St. Pete-based lineup snatched one run to take the lead, 1-0.
Rallying back, the Panthers touched the scoreboard in the fourth after Neal ripped a solo home run behind the right center fence to tie the game up, 1-1.
However, Eckerd put Florida Tech at deficit once more in the home half, as the Tritons pushed in two more runners to overlap the Crimson and Gray, 3-1.
Entering the fifth down by two, FIT battled back when Masih and McKown teamed up to erase the Panthers gap and even the score, 3-3.
After a blank sixth and seventh, the eighth saw Florida Tech bursting through the score with Neal crossing home plate safe due to a wild throw by the Tritons pitcher.
With a one-run lead, the Panthers fastened their lead in the ninth, after Masih blasted his first solo shot for the 2017 season to put Florida Tech ahead, 5-3.
Holding it down on the mound in the final innings, Beyer delivered once again a spotless performance, as the Sarasota native kept Eckerd scoreless for two innings to seal the win for FIT.
Florida Tech will step on the Turley Athletic Complex diamond again tomorrow for the series doubleheader. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m. ET. Fans can access live coverage of the event at FloridaTechSports.com!
