MELBOURNE – On a historic day for the Florida Tech softball program,
Val Silvestrini ties the program's win record in a split of today's doubleheader against Barry. Game one of the series ended 4-3 in favor of Barry and game two was 4-0 for Florida Tech.
Chloe French put together an amazing afternoon as the Deland, Florida native went 3-4 with one run and two RBI.
Tina Velazquez Rolon also had a big day as she went 1-4 with a double and three RBI.
Samantha Guider (2-2) was the most successful of the Panthers pitchers as she had a perfect complete game 0.00 ERA surrendering seven hits with six strikeouts. Velazquez Rolon also had a 0.00 ERA during her 2.2 inning relief effort and
Jordan Lawlis (2-4) allowed four runs, one earned, on three hits and struck out five in the game one start.
"It was nice to see the team to finally playing together and getting a couple hits back-to-back," said Silvestrini. "They were tough and Sam did a great job on the mound. I think all of our pitchers have been doing a great job on the mound and giving us a chance to win and finally we could score some runs for them.
The Crimson & Gray started game out hot as they took Barry down in order in the game's first frame and then grabbed the lead in their first plate appearance off a
Victoria Szrom double down the left-field line that scored
Cheyenne Nelson. However, both teams fielding was on display for the next few innings as neither team managed to score despite multiple runners in scoring position.
This all changed in the fifth, as a litany of Tech errors allowed the Bucs multiple chances that they capitalized on as four runs crossed home plate. These issues did not deter the Panthers as they began rallying in their next at-bat and this resulted in
Mikayla Wessel stealing home on a successful double steal.
Florida Tech struck again in the sixth inning as a French single to right-center allowed
Mikayla Lewin time to trot over the plate and bring it within one run. Unfortunately, the team did not manage another run and game one ended as a 4-3 loss.
Game two had a similar start to the first as Tech came out aggressive, as Barry was three up, three down with the help of a double play. The true magic came in the bottom half of the first as the women tallied three of its four runs with the first coming off a French single to center field that scored
Emily Figueroa. This was followed up with a Velazquez Rolon double that saw both Lewin and French find their way across the bag.
The game again became a defensive showcase as both sides employed a bend don't break method and this worked until the Panthers broke through for their fourth and final run of the night in the bottom of the fifth. The final run that made it 4-0 came off a Velazquez Rolon sacrifice fly that gave
Jenna Hornsby just enough time to get home safely.
Florida Tech softball will recharge for the next 10 days before they welcome Florida Southern to Nancy Bottge Field for a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 7. First pitch of this two-game affair is set for 3 p.m. ET.
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.
