LONGWOOD, Fla. – Florida Tech softball continued the 2024 Panther Invitational on Saturday with Day Two matchups against Chadron State and Saint Anselm. Pitching and fast starts proved to be fruitful for the Panthers as they swept their opponents for a second consecutive days, cruising past Chadron State, 6-0 and hanging on to beat Saint Anselm, 5-3.  
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
 
GAME ONE:
Final: Florida Tech 6, Chadron State 0
Records: Florida Tech (5-2, 0-0 SSC) | Chadron State (0-9, 0-0 RMAC)
Location: Soldiers Creek Park | Longwood, Fla.  

STATS OF THE GAME: 

• The Panthers took the lead after just three batters and never looked back.
• Ella Niles sparked the opening rally by leading off with a walk and then stealing second with Kelly McLaughlin at the plate. A McLaughlin bunt single put runners at the corners for Jolie Miracle.
• Miracle's double to center brought home Niles to put Tech in front and moved McLaughlin to third.
• McLaughlin wouldn't have to wait long to come home as Katie Hogue singled to right to double the Crimson and Gray lead.
• Florida Tech created further separation in the bottom of the second against Eagles starting pitcher Tori Haug.
• Samantha Shortal started the rally with a leadoff walk and then stole second with Celesta Casillas at the plate. Casillas reached on an infield single to put runners at the corners for Niles and the top of the lineup.
• Niles reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to second on the play while Shortal was erased on a rundown.
• The Panthers' speed would be showcased in the next at-bat as both Casillas and Niles scored on a ball that never left the infield hit by McLaughlin, who wound up at third base.
• Miracle's groundout to first allowed McLaughlin to sprint home and make it a 5-0 Tech lead.
• The Crimson and Gray concluded the scoring in the bottom of the fourth with both McLaughlin and Miracle singling to start the frame.
• Katie Hogue reached on a ball hit to third that took McLaughlin off the basepaths. Miranda Schwartz's foul out down the right field line advanced both runners and Mya Ogbodiewgu's infield single plated Miracle to cap the scoring.
• Dawn Pawlak, Hailey Mix and Lexi Lueger combined to twirl a four-hit shutout in which an Eagle reached third base only three times.
• McLaughlin was tops among the Panthers' 11-hit attack with three of her own, matching a career high set on March 10^th, 2023 at Florida Southern.

GAME TWO:
Final: Florida Tech 5, Saint Anselm 3
Records: Florida Tech (6-2, 0-0 SSC) | Saint Anselm (1-3, 0-0 NE10)
Location: Soldiers Creek Park | Longwood, Fla.  

STATS OF THE GAME:

• The Crimson and Gray took the lead in the opening frame once again and once again, Niles would be the one to make it happen, starting the inning with a walk.
• Niles moved station to station on a McLaughlin sacrifice bunt and Miracle groundout before a Hogue triple into the right centerfield gap brought her in.
• Florida Tech earned what turned out to be a vital cushion in the bottom of the fourth with Hogue kickstarting the surge with a leadoff walk.
• A Schwartz single and walk to Ogbodiewgu loaded the bases for Kathryn Sexton, whose sacrifice fly to center brought home Hogue.
• A double steal made it 4-0 as Schwartz swiped home.
• Following a Shortal single and steal of single, the Panthers added two more to their ledger on a Casillas groundout that scored Ogbodiewgu and a Sophia DiPippo wild pitch that allowed Shortal to scurry home.
• The Hawks' toughest challenge for Alex Hendrian would present itself in the top of the fifth, which began with a Brooke Tardugno leadoff single to right and a walk to Audrey Arsenault.
• Following a strikeout of Jamie Calkins, a Sarah Cipriani single loaded the bases for Ava Caputo.
• Caputo's single into left got Saint Anselm on the board and a walk to Stephanie Tardugno made it a 5-2.
• The Hawks continued to apply pressure as fielder's choice brought home Cipriani and put the tying run on base.
• That would be as close as Saint Anselm would get as Hendrian would induce in an inning-ending flyout from Sam Wiberg and then retired all six hitters she faced over the final two innings for her second complete game in as many days and fourth of the season.
• The right-hander struck out six and walked two while allowing just four hits in going the distance.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• The Panthers now lead the all-time series against Chadron State 2-0. This was the first meeting between the teams since February 7, 2016 in Clearwater.
• Florida Tech now leads the all-time series with Saint Anselm 2-0. This was the first meeting between the teams since February 12, 2022 at the Panther Invitational in Cocoa.
• Jolie Miracle's RBI double in the first inning against Chadron State was the 100^th hit of her career. She becomes the first Panther catcher to reach the mark since Nicole Shinsky (2013-2016). The senior is currently hitting .280 with a .379 on-base percentage.
• Katie Hogue went three-for-six over the two games, bringing her average on the season to .375 and extending her hitting streak to six games.
• Miranda Schwartz went two-for-five for the day, extending her hitting streak to six consecutive games and pushing her on-base percentage to .370.
• Celeste Casillas has gone five-for-11 during the Panther Invitational so far, bringing her season average to .412.

UP NEXT: The Panther Invitational wraps up on Sunday with Florida Tech playing another pair of games. Tech will face Auburn-Montgomery at 11 A.M. before concluding the weekend's action at 1:30 P.M. against Bentley.
 

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