Melbourne, Fla. – Florida Tech remain firmly in the hunt for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015 and if they get there, they can look back on Friday night's 5-3 win over Palm Beach Atlantic in the opening game of their late season Sunshine State Conference series at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field as a big reason why.
The Panthers broke the seal in the bottom of the third inning, beginning with a one-out single through the middle by Sam Schner off Sailfish starter Drew Holweger. He then took a gamble on the bases, beating the throw to third after Raul Quintero's bloop single to right center. Holweger recovered to strike out Jakob Newton and appeared to have escaped the inning without damage when he induced a grounder to third from Rodnie Bernard, but Carlos Lara misplayed it, allowing Schner to score.
The Sailfish went to work immediately in the following frame against Panther starter Boris Villa. Sebastian Salado drew a one-out walk and then advanced to second on a wild pitch with Dylan Tosto at the plate. Tosto's groundout to second would move Salado 90 feet closer as Carlos Lara would draw a walk and then take second during Sean Houck's at-bat.
Houck then hit a ball in the hole at short that Quintero was able to get to but his throw to first pulled Alec Eldridge off the bag, allowing Salado to score and the inning to continue. Houck stole second just before Landen Morrison walked. Ramon Machado then gave the Sailfish the lead the hard way as he was hit by a pitch, which brought home a run. That would end Villa's outing as Matt Dinenna came in from the bullpen and induced an inning-ending fielder's choice from Brandon Seltzer.
Florida Tech drew level in the bottom of the fifth, which Schner started with a walk. He then stole second with Quintero at the plate and then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Newton would bring Schner home on a bloop single to right. A fielder's choice erased Newton and a popout by Paul Castillo cut short any further hopes of a rally.
PBA went back in front in the top of the eighth, which Houck started with a one-out walk against new Panther reliever Andres Rodriguez. A passed ball would move Houck to second and a fly ball by Morrison was just deep enough to rightfield to allow Houck to tag. A wild pitch to Machado brought home the run. The Sailfish would get another runner to third, but Rodriguez struck out Seltzer to prevent any further damage.
The Panthers, however, responded to the potential body blow with a haymaker of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Newton led off the frame with a walk that brought Holweger's night to a close as he gave way to Jake Sciarrotta.
The only batter he faced was Bernard, who sacrificed himself to move Newton to second. Ryan Webster was next on the hill and after striking out Castillo, his wild pitch with Brett Parrish at the plate allowed the tying run to go to third. Parrish eventually walked and PBA responded by going to Ruiari Murphy.
After Parrish stole second, Murphy lost Dylan Owens on a walk to load the bases for Eldridge. The junior first baseman showed a keen eye and much needed composure to draw a walk of his own that brought Newton home and tied the game. Blaise Maris then followed with the decisive hit, a two-run single into right center that put the Panthers in front for good.
The Sailfish did bring the go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the ninth, but Alex Carpenter nailed down his sixth save of the season by inducing a tapper back to the mound from Lara to end it.
The victory would not have been possible without the five and two-thirds innings of one-run ball from the bullpen. A large chunk of that credit can be given to Dinenna, who threw three and one-third innings of three-hit shutout ball to keep the Panthers in the game.
At the dish, the Panthers received multi-hit efforts from Quintero and Schner, who reached base in all four plate appearances. Quintero moved into sole possession of 10th place in program history for stolen bases with his swipe of second in the third inning marking the 48th of his career.
Up Next
The Panthers (13-10, 12-9 SSC) and Sailfish (10-13, 8-13 SSC) will conclude their three-game SSC series with a doubleheader on Sunday at Rubin Park in West Palm Beach. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 P.M.
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