Melbourne, Fla. -  The offense of Florida Southern, one of the most dangerous in the Sunshine State Conference all season, wasn't at its peak throughout all of Sunday's doubleheader against Florida Tech, it was just at its peak when it had to be. A four-run eighth inning secured victory for the Moccasins in Game 1 and an eight-run sixth flipped Game 2 from being up for grabs to a sweep.
 
Prior to the start of the doubleheader, the program honored its four graduating seniors: Andrew Dunham, Alec Eldridge, Brett Parrish and William Quinones.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Game 1 Final: Florida Southern 6, Florida Tech 3
Game 2 Final: Florida Southern 9, Florida Tech 5
Records: Florida Tech (22-23, 11-15 SSC) | Florida Southern (31-15, 16-10 SSC)
Location: Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field | Melbourne, Fla.  
 
STATS OF GAME 1:

• The Panthers would open the scoring in the bottom of the fourth, which started with a leadoff walk to Gavin McGowan from Moccasins reliever Mitchell LeRoy.
• After an Eldridge pop out and Tate Hansen strikeout, Brett Parrish laced a double into the right centerfield gap that allowed McGowan to score from first and put Tech ahead.
• Florida Tech would add on in the following frame with Sam Schner's leadoff walk igniting the rally. Schner would take third after a failed pickoff attempt by LeRoy.
• Following a walk to Austin Sewell, Jason Blackstone hit a ball on the infield that ended up being mishandled by Mocs second baseman Mitch Donofrio, allowing Schner to sprint home in the process.
• McGowan would pop out but with Austin Sewell at the plate, a wild pitch brought Blackstone home.
• The Moccasins provided an immediate response in the top of the sixth against Tech starting pitcher Danny Vassallo.
• After Drew Cavanaugh was hit by a pitch to start the inning, Connor Berry's one-out single through the right side set up runners at the corners for Donofrio, whose sacrifice fly got FSC on the board.
• A wild pitch and a walk to Ryan Magdic, Sean Riley's bloop single into left plated Berry to bring Florida Southern within one. Vassallo would recover to retire Jevin Relaford and keep the Crimson and Gray in front.
• Florida Tech would load the bases with one out against Mocs reliever Justin Wit in the bottom of the sixth but were unable to score.
• The Mocs would flip the game on its head in the top of the eighth against Panther reliever Ridge Skarbek, beginning with Berry being hit by a pitch.
• After a walk to Donofrio, Magdic's double off the left centerfield wall drove in Berry to tie the game and put Magdic at third.
• After Gabe Garrett's diving stop and throw to retire El' Rico Riley held the runners, Relaford would launch a three-run homer to left that put Florida Southern on top for the first time.
• The Panthers would load the bases in the eighth and bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning but were unable to extend the game.
• Vassallo would go six innings in his final home outing of the season, allowing just the two runs on six hits while striking out six and walking two.
• Eldridge, Garrett, Hansen, McGowan, Parrish and Schner were responsible for the Panthers' six hits in Game 1.

 
       STATS OF GAME 2:

• The Panthers would be first on the board once again, this time breaking through in the bottom of the third.
• Garrett jumpstarted the inning with a double down the left field line that just stayed fair.
• Schner's opposite field single to left put runners at the corners for Blackstone, who would drive in Garrett with a single through the left side.
• After Eldridge grounded into a double play, Mocs starting pitcher Aric McAtee uncorked a wild pitch to Josh Ford that brought in Schner.
• FSC would get one back in the following frame against Panthers starting pitcher Mitch Harding.
• The big hit in the inning would come off the bat of Cavanaugh who lined a ball down the first base line that just stayed fair and rolled into the right field corner for a one-out triple.
• Magdic drove a ball to deep left center that ultimately fell into the glove of Roman Samson and became nothing more than a long sacrifice fly.
• The Crimson and Gray would have a carbon copy inning in the bottom half of the fourth as Brett Parrish led off with a triple of his own into the right field corner.
• Roman Samson singled to left on the first pitch he saw to drive in Parrish and restore the Panther lead to two.
• Florida Southern would put the game away in the top of the sixth with a quick barrage.
• After Relaford was hit by a pitch to start the inning, D'Ante Starks hit a double that found the right centerfield gap that scored Relaford from first.
• Cavanaugh followed with a single to right that fell in and brought home Starks to level the game at 3.
• Two batters later, Bryce Safferwich's one-out single to left drove Cavanaugh home and gave the Mocs the lead for the first time.
• After Sean Riley walked to load the bases, El'Rico Riley would lift a sacrifice fly along the right field line that scored Donofrio.
• Julio Cortez walked to load the bases and a passed ball to Relaford allowed a run to score before he followed with a single to right that made it 7-3 and chase Harding in the process.
• Tyler Vermillion immediately surrendered a two-run single to Starks who would then get caught in a rundown that brought the inning to a close.
• The Panthers would cut into the deficit in the bottom of the seventh against FSC reliever Kerry Wright as Blackstone led off the inning being hit by a pitch.
• After Eldridge struck out and Ford walked, Sewell sliced a pinch-hit, opposite-field RBI double to bring in Blackstone.
• One batter later, with Samson at the plate, a passed ball allowed Ford to hurry home and bring Tech within four. While Samson walked to extend the inning, an ensuing fielder's choice would clip Florida Tech's last rally.
• Blackstone and Garrett each had multi-hit efforts to power the Panthers' 10-hit attack.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• The Panthers are now 34-110 all-time against the Moccasins.
• Blackstone's on-base streak ended at 39 consecutive games in Game 1. This was the first game he did not reach base safely since February 2^nd against Wingate. His first inning stolen base in Game 2 was his eighth of the season.
• Parrish's RBI double in Game 1 was the 110^th run driven in of his career. His Game 2 triple was the 15^th of his career.
• Eldridge's ninth inning double in Game 1 was the 41^st of his career.
• Garrett's Game 2 stolen base was his eighth in as many attempts this season.  

UP NEXT: The Panthers will conclude the home portion of their 2023 schedule tomorrow, Monday May 8^th, with the series finale against the Moccasins. First pitch is scheduled for 1 P.M.

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