Melbourne, Fla. - On February 23, the Panthers hosted the No.1 Tampa for the last two games of the weekend series.
Florida Tech (5-6, SSC 2-1) had momentum going into today's matchup having beat the Spartans in a close game Friday night(6-5).
The Panthers, in the first game of the doubleheader, were able to secure the series win defeating Tampa (14-12). The Crimson and Gray came out swigging the bats very well in the first game putting up 14 runs in the first four innings.
Dylan Owens had an impressive day on the plate going 3-for-4 with four RBI's, two runs scored and a home run.
Pedro Rivera contributed on the Panther win as he went 1-for-3 with two RBI's.
Rodnie Bernard continues to be a threat for Florida Tech as he went 2-for-3 with two RBI's and two runs scored on the Panther win. Bernard leads the team in batting average (.500), OPS (1.105), and SLG% (.605).
Colin Cristello earned his first win of the season pitching six innings allowing eight hits and two runs. Cristello also recorded seven strikeouts against the No.1 Tampa.
Ryan Allain continues to throw the ball well in the 9th inning as he recorded his third save of the season. Allain allowed only one hit and recorded two strikeouts to hold the dangerous Spartans offense and give the Panthers a 14-12 victory.
In the Second game, Tampa had an early start as they scored four runs in the first three inning of the ball game. The Panthers were able to answer the score in the bottom of the third has they scored seven runs.
The first run of the game came from
James Gronberg as he single to left field scoring
Brett Parrish. Next,
Jakob Newton hit a triple scoring Gronberg all the way from first base to make it a 4-3 game. The Panthers were able to tie the game with a single off the bat of
Jacob Buser. Florida Tech scored the seventh run with a triple off the bat of Perrish scoring
Blaise Maris.
Buser had a great third game going 4-for-5 with an RBI and two run scored. Parrish had a 3-for-4 game with an RBI and a run scored.
Unfortunately, the Panthers were not able to take all three games from the Spartans. However, this is a big series win for Florida Tech against No.1 Tampa.
Greg Berkemeier hopes to carry this momentum to the next game at home against Davenport. The game is schedule for Wednesday, February 27 at 6 p.m.
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