Melbourne, Fla. – Having lost five straight games, Panthers head coach Greg Berkemeier thought some lineup changes might be just what his team needed to get back on track. His instincts proved correct as the offense broke out early and often to cruise to a 9-1 victory over Saint Leo in Friday's series opener at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field.
The Lions broke through first in the top of the second inning against Panther, starting pitcher Boris Villa. The inning started with a Paul Coumoulos single up the middle. He then advanced to second on a wild pitch with Cooper Trinkle at the plate. Following consecutive walks to Trinkle and Adrien Roa that loaded the bases, Eddie Niemann would ground into a fielder's choice in which Panther first baseman Dylan Owens elected to go home with the throw to retire Coumoulos. However, Danny Torres would draw a walk to bring in Trinkle. Villa was able to limit further damage by striking out Yazael Nunez and inducing a flyout from P.J. Barry.
Florida Tech clawed one back in the bottom of half of the second, starting with a one-out single to left by Jakob Newton off of Lions' starter Jimmy Burnette. After Diego Garcia flew out to center, Newton stole second with Brett Parrish at the plate. Parrish responded with a single up the middle and into right center to bring Newton around and level the proceedings.
The Crimson and Gray went ahead in the following frame as Raul Quintero singled through the right side with one out to start the charge. After Rodnie Bernard struck out, Paul Castillo launched his second home run of the season to left to make it 3-1 Tech.
The Panthers would continue to tack on in the bottom of fourth, this time exclusively with two out. Parrish would ignite the rally the hard way after getting hit by a Burnette pitch. A wild pitch to Blaise Maris allowed Parrish to take second, and shortly after that, Maris would lace a hard-hit single that glanced off Lions' third baseman Trinkle and into left field to plate Parrish. Maris advanced to second on a wild pitch one batter later and came around to score on a double down the right field line by Sam Schner.
Castillo got the Tech offense going again in the bottom of the fifth with a bloop single into center. As Dylan Owens dug in against Burnette, Castillo stole second and third. Owens made sure Castillo's gamble on the basepaths paid off as his single the other way to right made it a 6-1 Panther lead.
Florida Tech would salt the game away in the bottom of the eighth inning, beginning with Newton's leadoff single to right center. Newton then stole second as Garcia struck out. After Parrish walked and gave way to pinch-runner Jack Nagy, Schner ripped a two-out, two-run triple off the fence in right to put the Panthers out of sight. He would complete the scoring one pitch later when Lions reliever Dariel Freggio issued a wild pitch.
Villa built on his excellent long relief appearance last Saturday against Florida Southern with a solid outing in his first start in a month, giving up one run on three hits while striking out five over 91 pitches in six innings of work.
Matt Dinenna threw the final three innings to earn his first save of the season. Over that span, he surrendered just two hits while throwing 20 of his 31 pitches for strikes.
At the plate, the Crimson and Gray were buoyed by multi-hit efforts from Castillo, Newton, Quintero, and Schner, who had two extra-base hits and three runs driven in for Florida Tech.
Up Next
The Panthers (8-9, 7-8 SSC) and Lions (6-10, 5-9 SSC) will conclude their three-game SSC series with a doubleheader on Saturday at Thomas B. Southard Stadium in Saint Leo. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 P.M.
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