Melbourne, Fla. - On February 8th, Florida Tech went up against Valdosta St. and Wingate University. The Panthers managed to earn their first win of the young season against Valdosta St.
In the first game, the Panthers started out swinging the bats well as they took an early 3-0 lead over the Blazers.
Jacob Buser helped the Panthers earned the lead by hitting a double to right center scoring
James Gronberg to give Florida Tech a 2-0 lead.
In the third inning,
Rodnie Bernard hit a single to right field to score Gronberg to keep a 4-1 lead over the Blazers.
Florida Tech added two more runs to the lead in the third inning. However, the Blazers were able to cut the Panthers lead in the seventh and eighth inning making it 6-5 Panther lead.
The Crimson and Grays were able to hold the lead and earned their first win of the season and take away a five game winning streak from Valdosta St.
Bernard continues to swing the bat well for the Panthers as he had a very good game going 3-for-4 with two RIB's.
Andrew Marzheuser had another quality start, pitching six innings allowing seven hits and two run score. He recorded a career high 11 strikeouts in the game.
In the second game, the Panthers quickly fell behind as the Bulldogs were able to score three runs in the first inning.
However, in the fifth inning the Panther bats came alive as they score three runs to tie the game up at four. Buser and
Jakob Newton both contributed to the team by hitting sacrifice fly to score
Raul Quintero and Gronberg.
In the six inning, the Panthers took the first lead of the game making it 6-5 over the Bulldogs. Quintero hit a double to score
Pedro Rivera to tie the game at five. Next, sophomore
Dylan Owens hit an RBI single to right field scoring Quintero to give the Panthers the lead.
The Panthers could not hold on to the lead as Tyler Scheider hit a two run home run over left center gap to give the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead.
The Panthers had good offensive showing by Quintero going 2-for-5 with an RBI. Owens recorded two hits on three at bats and a RBI. Lastly, the best offensive showing for the Panthers today came from Bernard who had another 3-for-5 game to increase his batting average to .588.
Colin Cristello had a good start for the Panthers pitching four innings allowing six hits and three runs score. Cristello also recorded seven strikeouts over four inning of work.
Florida Tech will be back Monday, February 11 to host Barry University. First pitch is schedule for 4pm.
For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech baseball team, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Also, don't forget to download the SuperFan Loyalty app for all Florida Tech sports schedules and a chance to win prizes.
