DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Ending the first series of the 2018 season, No. 23 North Georgia (2-1) routed Florida Tech (1-2) in back-to-back games.

During Game 1 of the doubleheader, the Panthers took an 8-6 run before a five-run seventh inning pushed UNG ahead, 11-10. In Game 2, FIT fought to keep the Hawks at distance, but a late rally by the home team earned themselves a 6-5 victory to close the weekend series, 2-1.

On the mound, FIT utilized six pitchers between the two games, but could not find a solution to halt a persistent UNG offense. Standing out in the first game of the doubleheader however, Sam Crocker collected three strikeouts in two innings pitched, while in Game 2 Andrew Marzheuser contributed with six strikeouts and allowed solely four hits against 23 batters faced.

In the box, Zach Orchard led the Crimson and Gray offense with a cumulative 5-for-9 performance at the plate, driving in two RBI to record a .571 batting average. However, the most impressive part of Orchard's performance came in Game 1 alone, where he went 4-for-5 for a .800 batting average. Behind him, teammate Ryan Sinzenich went 2-for-7 to end the Saturday outing with three RBI and one homerun. Batting in three runs of his own, senior Daniel Szpik went 3-for-9 in the box with four RBI, while Jacob Buser ended his first series in the Florida Tech line with three hits, one of which marked his first homerun as a Panther.

To open Game 1, UNG batted in its first run in the second to move past FIT, 1-0, but the Panthers roared back in the third, when Spzik drove a single to the right side to bring home two runs. Continuing the momentum, Sinzenich immediately followed up with a base clearing three-run bomb to overlap the Nighthawks, 6-1.Unfortunately, UNG was able to tie things up at the bottom of the inning with a three-run homerun.

With a score balanced at 6-6, Sinzenich and Orchard joined forces in the fourth to fetch two more runs and put Florida Tech ahead, 8-6. From there the Nighthawks rallied back to take an 11-8 lead in the seventh. Although FIT shortened the deficit by one, the Melbourne lineup was unable to advance its runners and eventually fell, 11-10.

In the final game of the series, UNG broke through the score in the third, racking up two runs to move ahead of FIT, 2-0. However, Szpik sparked the Panthers fight in the fourth, bringing in one run, while Orchard pushed home another in the sixth to tie the game at 2-2. Letting it all ride on the junior transfer, Buser stepped to the plate with two outs and two runners on base to blast a three-run shot in the sixth to put Florida Tech in the lead, 5-2.

Although the Panthers held three-point lead, No. 23 North Georgia came back in the seventh, scoring four runs to surpass the Crimson and Gray, 6-5.

The Panthers will now travel to St. Augustine to participate in the Flagler Kickoff Classic. FIT will first square up against Wingate University on Friday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. ET.

For more info and live coverage of the games, fans can access FloridaTechSports.com!