MELBOURNE, Fla. - Under a clear sky, Florida Tech (32-21, 16-14 SSC) capped off the 2018 regular season in thrilling fashion, as the Panthers powered past Lynn (25-25, 13-17 SSC) with an overwhelming 7-2 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Nancy Bottge Field. Prior to the game, FIT honored its 2018 Senior Class composed of Jessica Callahan, Amanda Kahn, McKenzie Krutsinger, and Makayla Palmer.

Leading the FIT defense, the nations No. 8 ranked pitcher for ERA, Melanie Murphy (16-9) recorded a five-inning stand that only saw one hit on four strikeouts for an opposing team batting average of .059. After recording her first no-hitter as a Panther during yesterday's doubleheader, Murphy ended the 2018 regular season as the No.1 pitcher among the conference with a cumulative 1.00 ERA. The earned run average has bestowed the lefty as the school's record holder for single-season ERA, which was previously set by Amber West back in the 2005 season. During the year, Murphy amassed 108 strikeouts in 189 complete innings pitched. 

Taking the circle at Nancy Bottge Field for one last time, seniors Kahn and Krutsinger recorded one strikeout and one inning pitched for a spotless 0.00 ERA. After today's outing, Kahn hangs her cleats with an 18-13 overall record at FIT, 60 strikeouts, and a 2.66 career ERA that has accumulated over her 224.2 innings pitched. Also retiring, after three years of collegiate action, Krutsinger salutes her teammates with a legacy highlighted by a cumulative 4.22 ERA in 155 complete innings pitched for a total of 46 strikeouts.

Behind the plate for four straight years, Palmer farewells her Crimson and Gray career with an overall .286 batting average, .382 slugging percentage, and 60 RBI in 143 games played, while Callahan, a five-year Crimson and Gray veteran retires with a .225 batting average, .335 slugging percentage, .356 on-base percentage, 91 hits, and 65 RBI in 166 games played.

This afternoon at the plate, sophomore Rachel Kraak led the Florida Tech firepower with a .667 batting and slugging average, as she collected two hits in three at-bats. Senior catcher Palmer went 2-for-4 at the plate for a .500 batting average, tallying one triple and two RBI. Pitching in with two RBI each, Callahan and junior Alexus Smith both notched a .333 batting average and a double during the Friday outing. Following closely behind, junior Xiarysse Emerenciana drove in one RBI with a 1-for-3 performance.

Florida Tech set the pace once again, as the Melbourne squad struck in the bottom of the first. Starting the frame, Emerenciana was walked to first and Mikayla Wessel bunted to the third base to allow her fellow teammate to move to second. Palmer then stepped into the box and blasted a triple down the right-field line to give FIT a 1-0 lead.

After a blank second, the Crimson and Gray lineup struck again with another single by Palmer to push across Wessel and increase the Panthers stretch, 2-0.
 
As the fourth came around, the Fighting Knights rallied back with one run, 2-1. However, FIT quickly roared back in the bottom half of the inning, where a single by Emerenciana and a double by Callahan drove in three runs for Florida Tech to make it a 5-2 decision. The Crimson and Gray bats were still hot, and with two outs on the board, Smith punched a double to left center for two more runs to make it, 7-2.

Moving into the fifth with a five-run lead, Murphy closed her last home performance with a 1-2-3 frame to maintain the Panthers advantage.

In the home offensive half of the inning, Kahn stepped into the box for her first at-bat of the 2018 season and set a milestone for her career as a Panther after she flared a single to left field. However, FIT struggled to move its pitcher around the bases and eventually left the frame with an unchanged score.
 
For the final two innings, both dugouts struggled to place runners on base, and a combined effort by seniors Krutsinger and Kahn in the sixth and seventh respectively sealed the last home win of the season for FIT, 7-2.

Today, Florida Tech softball saluted four outstanding individuals who left not only incredible memories to their fans and teammates but also a rich legacy for all the players to come. Thank you, 2018 Senior Class!

Florida Tech will now wait for a possible bid into the NCAA South Regional Championship.

For more info, stay tuned at FloridaTechSports.com!