DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – No. 11 Florida Tech softball (23-7, 7-5 SSC) earned its second Sunshine State Conference series win of the year as they took down Embry-Riddle in one of the two games of the doubleheader. The Panthers lost game one, 8-1, but came together to win the series rubber match, 5-3.
Cheyenne Nelson was one of the women to lead the team at the plate as she went 3-8 with two doubles and one RBI.
Vanessa Rubio also had a big day as she went 3-5 with a double, two RBIs and two walks.
Tina Velazquez Rolon (8-2) was tabbed the starter for the first game of the doubleheader. The transfer struggled during her time in the circle as she allowed seven runs on nine hits and two strikeouts over four innings. She was replaced by
Jordan Lawlis for the final two innings and she put together a solid outing as she surrendered one run on two hits.
The Panthers got on the board first off a Rubio single in the first inning that scored Nelson. However, that would be the team's sole run of the contest. The Eagles managed to score eight straight runs throughout the course of the game as they crossed home in the first (two), third (one) and fifth (five) innings.
Game two saw a familiar face on the mound as
Melanie Murphy (11-5) took to the dirt. Murphy put together a respectable showing as she recorded another complete game. The senior let up only three runs and four hits with four "Ks" throughout the seven innings.
Tech again was the first team on the board as the team put up two runs in the top of the second. A sacrifice fly by
Shanysse Emerenciana gave
Jaden Kline enough time to safely cross home plate.
Alexus Smith followed that up later in the inning with a moon shot over the right-field fence.
The Crimson and Gray extended its lead to 3-0 in the top of the fifth as
Xiarysse Emerenciana smacked a shot up the middle of the field that pushed
Katie Maiello home. The Eagles responded in the bottom half of the inning as they put up two runs and then tied it at 3-3 with another run in the bottom of the sixth.
However, the Panthers did not let the momentum swing bother them as they went into the final inning. The team gritted it out and scored the final two runs of the game thanks to a Nelson double that sent
Mikayla Wessel home and later a Rubio single that gave Nelson her second run of the afternoon.
Florida Tech will take a well-deserved break before getting back in action Friday, March 22, when they invite Barry back to Melbourne for this year's weekend series. Game one is set to begin at 3 p.m. ET at Nancy Bottge Field.
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