ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Florida Tech softball went across the state to St. Pete for its yearly series against Eckerd. The Tritons snapped Tech's four-game win streak, 3-4, in the first of the weekend's three contests.
Jaden Kline was the sole Panther to have multiple hits as she went 2-3 with one run, one double and a walk.
Cheyenne Nelson,
Mikayla Wessel,
Tina Velazquez Rolon and
Ashley Campbell all tallied one hit.
Vanessa Rubio, Kline and Velazquez Rolon were the three to cross the bag; while Campbell and Velazquez Rolon earned an RBI.
Jordan Lawlis was the Crimson & Gray's starter in the circle. The Okeechobee native lasted four innings and allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts. Velazquez Rolon pitched the final two frames and she surrendered two runs on four hits and sat two down on strikes.
The first inning was relatively quick with only one hit between the two teams. However, Florida Tech opened up the scoring in the top of the second as Eckerd's second baseman dropped a catchable ball and this gave Velazquez Rolon plenty of time to make it over home plate. The women extended their lead the next time they took the plate when Velazquez Rolon blasted a shot into the left-center field gap that scored Kline.
Two batters later, Campbell made it 3-0 as she hit into a fielder's choice but it was deep enough to make sure Rubio made it across the plate. The Tritons cut the lead to one run in the bottom of the fourth inning and then tacked on two more runs in the fifth that put Tech behind 3-4. Those runs were the last of the night as the Panthers fell by one run.
Tech will shake off this loss and look to win the series Saturday, Feb. 22, as game one of the doubleheader scheduled to start at noon ET. The final two games take place at the Turley Athletic Complex in St. Pete.
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