MELBOURNE – Florida Tech softball welcomed the No. 8 team in the nation, the Rollins College Tars, to Nancy Bottge Field for game one of the three-game SSC series. Despite a great effort, Tech fell 2-1 in a pitcher's duel.

Tina Velazquez Rolon (2-2) put together an impressive performance both in the circle and at the plate. During her time on the rubber, the Puerto Rico native tossed all seven innings and surrendered two runs on five hits with six strikeouts. She also tallied the only Panther run when she hit a shot over the left-center field wall in the bottom of the seventh.
 
In a battle of differing philosophies, the Panthers' SSC-leading batting went against the conference's best fielders in the Tars. However, it was the fielding for both teams that shined for a majority of the game, as it was a scoreless game through the first five innings.
 
The Tars were the first to score as a two-run homer in the top of the sixth made it 2-0. The Panthers in a comeback attempt started a rally in the bottom of the seventh that began with a solo homer by Velazquez Rolon that made it a one-run contest. Sadly, this was the only run that came across the plate for the Crimson & Gray and the women loss, 2-1.
 
The Panthers finish the series with Rollins with a road doubleheader Saturday, April 24 with the first pitch set for 1 p.m. ET.
 
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