MELBOURNE, Fla. - Florida Tech baseball looked to clinch the weekend series against Embry-Riddler as they welcomed the Eagles back to Andy Seminick  - Les Hall Field on Saturday. The Panthers again came out on top, 5-4, to improve their to 12-15 (4-7 SSC).

Sam Crocker hit the rubber first for the Crimson and Gray but his start was short-lived as he just pitched two-thirds of an inning, allowing three runs on three hits to the Eagles.

Jordan Murray was the first member of Florida Tech bullpen to see action as he came in to close out the first inning. His mound appearance lasted for six and a third innings during which he gave up only one run and seven hits. He managed to send two batters back to the pine on strikes.

Drew Beyer was again called upon to close out the game for the Panthers. He tossed two scoreless frames to propel the team past the Eagles.

Daniel Szpik led the offense as he went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Ryan Sinzenich and Rodnie Bernard also earned multiple hits during the afternoon.

The game started out rocky for FIT, as the Eagles blitzed the team to the tune of three runs in the opening frame. The Panthers answered in the bottom half of the first off of a deep shot to right center by Jacob Buser that earned him a double. This brought the tally to 3-1 heading into the second.

The gap was closed in the second inning thanks to a  James Gronberg triple that scored Bernard. Sinzenich then drove in Gronberg on his single later in the inning to even the score at 3-3.

ERAU found themselves ahead again after driving in a run in the top of the fourth.

The game was quiet until the bottom of the sixth when Szpik blasted a ball over the left field fence for his fifth home run of the season. This two-run shot gave FIT their first lead of the game at 5-4, and proved to be the eventual game-winner as neither team produced much offense the final two and a half innings. 

The Panthers will look to complete the sweep against the Eagles on Sunday afternoon. This contest is set to begin at 1 p.m. and will take place at Andy Seminick - Les Hall Field. You can follow the action live at FloridaTechSport.com/live.