MELBOURNE, Fla. – No. 10 softball welcomed Sunshine State Conference rival Nova Southeastern to Nancy Bottge Field on Friday for game one of the weekend series. The Panthers made easy work of the Sharks as Tech cruised to a 7-1 victory.
A few Panthers shined at the plate and the group's headliner was
Tina Velazquez Rolon (1.000/1.000/4.000).
Rolon went 1-1 and recorded her team-high fifth home run of the season. She also reached base three times on balls, including one intentional walk.
Xiarysse Emerenciana had a big day as well for her team, despite a 1-for-4 performance, as she batted in three runners.
Senior ace
Melanie Murphy (17-5) delivered four solid innings of work, allowing no runs and only hit.
Murphy was then replaced by
Jordan Lawlis, who closed out the final three innings of the game in impressive fashion to pick up her first save of the season. During her time in the circle, Lawlis surrendered only one unearned run and three hits while also striking out two of the 13 batters she faced.
The Panthers broke the scoreless tie in style as
Tina Velazquez Rolon blasted a shot over the right-center field fence in the bottom of the second.
Tech doubled its advantage to 2-0 in the bottom of the third thanks to a slow grounder by
Xiarysse Emerenciana, which gave
Mikayla Wessel ample time to cross home plate.
The Crimson and Gray had a huge bottom of the fourth that started with
Rachel Kraak scoring on an NSU error off a
Cheyenne Nelson single. Later in the inning, Xiarysse sent a shot to left-center for a double that allowed two runs to scores. This gave the team a 5-0 lead as the game went into the fifth.
The Panthers grabbed another run in the fifth as a walk of
Melinda Rule resulted in
Shanysse Emerenciana scoring on a steal of home base. After being walked, Rule attempted to steal second, pulling the NSU catcher's attention to her and not Emerenciana who darted in from third for rare steal of home.
The Panthers seventh run came in the bottom of the sixth when
Katie Maiello stepped in to pinch hit. And Maiello did her job to perfection as she singled through the left side to score pinch runner
Peyton Anders, who sauntered across the bag for Tech's final run of the game.
The Sharks ended the chance of the shutout in the top of the seventh as a Florida Tech error allowed a run to score. This brought the final score of the contest to 7-1.
Tech will be back in action tomorrow at noon ET for the doubleheader against the Sharks. These games will take place at Nancy Bottge Field on the campus of Florida Tech.
For the latest news, updates and information on the Florida Tech softball 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.
