MELBOURNE, Fla. - Florida Tech opened its final homestand of the season as the baseball teamwelcomed Sunshine State Conference rival Palm Beach Atlantic to town. The Panthers snagged the victory, 6-4, after a back and forth affair that saw them clinch the game for good in the bottom of the sixth.

James Gronberg led the offense as he went 1-for-3 with two runs, two RBIs and one home run.

Georgia native Ty Cohen graced the mound first for the Crimson and Gray. Cohen tossed six innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on five hits while taking down eight batters on strikes. Cohen now has 98 strikeouts in 2018, which ties a career-high for K's in a season.

Matt DiNenna and Drew Beyer combined to shut out the Sailfish in the final three innings which ensured the Panthers' win.

Florida Tech started off the game on a high note as Gronberg sent a shot over the left field fence on the opening pitch of the bottom of the first. Later in the inning, a sacrifice fly by Zac Orchard brought home Ryan Sinzenich and then Jacob Buser crossed home plate thanks to a Sailfish error to give FIT a 3-0 lead headed into the second inning.

PBA narrowed the gap to two runs in the top of the third inning off of a Danny Turariello single into left field. A three run fifth inning gave the Sailfish their first lead of the night at 4-3. 

FIT regained the lead at 5-4 in the bottom half of the fifth as a Daniel Szpik grounder and Orchard double drove two runs across the plate. Gronberg pushed the lead to two in the sixth when he sent a grounder towards second that allowed Raul Quintero to cross home safely. This ended the scoring for the night as Florida Tech earned the 6-4 victory.

The Panthers will look for the sweep Friday afternoon as they will finish off the series against PBA. First pitch tomorrow is scheduled for 12 p.m. Prior to the start of game two, Florida Tech will honor its senior class before their final home game in a Panther uniform. You can follow the action live at FloridaTechSports.com/live.