MELBOURNE, Fla. – No. 4 Florida Tech started the NCAA DII South Region 2 tournament with a bang as the team defeated Mississippi College, 5-2.
Melinda Rule and
Tina Velazquez Rolon both tallied a home run in the game. While
Xiarysse Emerenciana,
Shanysse Emerenciana and
Mikayla Wessel all recorded two hits.
Panthers' ace,
Melanie Murphy, had another spectacular day in the circle as she earned her 23
rd win of the season. The senior pitcher went all seven innings and allowed only two runs on four hits and tallied her career high in strikeouts with nine.
The Choctaws were the first on the board as a single down the left field line, in the top of the first, gave them a 1-0. However, their lead did not last long as Florida Tech's
Vanessa Rubio sent a shot through the left side which scored Xiarysse.
Tech would take the lead in style as
Melinda Rule hit an inside the park home run, her first dinger of the season, to make it 2-1. Velazquez Rolon was the next Panther to bat in runs as she went yard which brought in two runs.
Mississippi College made it a two-run game when a sacrifice fly got Morgan Bradford across the bag. But,
Victoria Szrom made it a three-run contest again as she hit a slow grounder to third base that gave Shanysse enough team to cross the bag.
This last run ended the scoring as the Panthers won 5-2 and moves onto the winner's bracket semifinal against Alabama-Huntsville.
The Panthers will hit the field against Friday, May 10, at 10 a.m. ET as they look to beat the Chargers for a spot in the championship round of the South Region 2 tournament.
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.
