WINTER PARK, Fla. - The Florida Tech baseball team packed up its gear for one final road trip of the season as the Panthers traveled to Winter Park to take on Sunshine State Conference foe Rollins in a three-game series. A slow start and defensive errors cost the Panthers in game one of the series Thursday as they fell to the Tars, 8-3.

Pacing FIT at the plate was Jacob Buser as he went 2-for-3 with three runs while also on a  hit-by-pitch. Raul Quintero also snagged two hits on the afternoon along with one RBI.

Hitting the rubber first for the Crimson and Gray was Merritt Island native, Sam Crocker (2-4). Crocker lasted two innings and allowed four runs on five hits before seeing his day come to an end.

Jake Lane was the first Panther of the afternoon to come out of the bullpen. Lane tossed a total of three and a third innings during which he allowed two runs and two hits while striking out four batters.

Ryan Allain rounded out the rotation for Florida Tech as he was tasked with pitching the final two and two-thirds. During his time on the mound, he surrendered two runs on three hits.

Florida Tech started the game out slow, allowing one run apiece in the first two innings to fall behind 2-0 heading into the third.

The Panthers halved the lead in their third plate appearance thanks to a Daniel Szpik single that pushed Buser across the plate. Unfortunately, the Tars responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning and extended their lead to 4-1.

Buser tacked on his second run of the afternoon, and 38th on the season, off of a Vincenzo Catanza sacrifice fly to center field in the sixth.

However, Rollins answered FIT again, pushing its lead to 8-2 after scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth.

A Raul Quintero single in the top of the eighth allowed Buser to trot across the bag for the third time in the contest. This ended the scoring for the game as Florida Tech fell by a five-run margin.

The Panthers will look to avenge the loss Friday afternoon as they take the field for the second game at 1 p.m at Alfond Stadium at Harper-Shepherd Field. Fans can follow the action live at FloridaTechSports.com/live.