MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Tech baseball team dropped both games of its doubleheader against Saint Leo on Saturday afternoon, 13-7 in game one and 9-7 in game two, to conclude the weekend conference series.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Game 1 Final: Florida Tech 7, #7 Saint Leo 13
Game 2 Final: Florida Tech 7, #7 Saint Leo 9
Records: Florida Tech (11-13, 4-5 SSC), #7 Saint Leo (21-3, 7-2 SSC)
Location: Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field | Melbourne, Fla.
 
STATS OF GAME 1:

• Both starters tossed a quick one-two-three inning in the first to begin the game. Tech starting pitcher, Josh Beck, picked up a strikeout along the way.
• In the bottom of the second inning, Brett Kelly made his way to first base after getting plunked by a pitch. In the next at-bat, Noah Burke would triple home Kelly to take an early 1-0 lead. For the Panthers.
• Saint Leo tied the game at 1-1 with a sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning.
• Both teams remained scoreless until the top of the fifth when a wild pitch allowed a Lion to cross the plate to take a 2-1 lead.
• In the bottom half of the frame, the Panthers started the inning with three straight singles to load the bases with no outs. A fourth single from Jason Blackstone brought Roman Samson home to knot the game at 2-2.
• Two batters later, Carlos Guzman singled to right field to plate Camden Colman and take a 3-2 lead.
• Still in the bottom of the fifth, a fielder's choice followed by a Lion error allowed two more Panthers to cross home and extend the lead to 5-2.
• A solo home run in the top of the sixth brought Saint Leo within two, 5-3.
• In the bottom of the sixth, a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt from Gabe Garrett brought Samson home to extend Tech's lead to 6-3. A few batters later, Marshall Burke singled home Colman to make it a 7-3 game.
• In the next half inning, an RBI double and sacrifice fly for the Lions made it a 7-5 game. A few batters later, a three-run home run from Mikey Scott would put Saint Leo on top 8-7.
• Saint Leo tacked on another run in the top of the eighth to extend the lead to 9-7.
• The Lions continued to add to their lead in the top of the ninth with a two-RBI single, a sacrifice fly, and another RBI single to push the lead out to 13-7 heading into the Panther's final at-bats.
• Jack Matousek sent a one-out double off the center field in the bottom of the ninth but would be stranded after Saint Leo retired the next two Panthers to secure the 13-7 win.

 
STATS OF GAME 2:

• Both teams traded a run in the first frame of game two. Tech's run came from an RBI triple from Matousek in the bottom of the first to knot the game at 1-1.
• In the top of the second, the Lions led off with back-to-back walks. A double down the line brought both runners in to take a 3-1 lead. The next batter would bring a third run around with a single to push the lead to 4-1.
• The Panthers would go down in order in the bottom half of the frame but would strike back in the bottom of the third. A Guzman double brought Garrett across the plate to cut into the lead, 4-2.
• In the bottom of the fourth, N. Burke sent a towering shot over the left-center fence to tie the game at 4-4 for Tech.
• Saint Leo added a run in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 6-4 lead.
• Cole Patrick led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a hit-by-pitch for the Panthers. A few batters later, Blackstone used a sacrifice fly to bring Patrick in. An RBI single from M. Burke in the next at-bat tied the game at 6-6 for Tech.
• After a scoreless seventh, Tech took the lead, 7-6, in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single by Blackstone that scored Jacob Guthrie.
• Saint Leo led off the top of the ninth with a bloop single into the outfield and the runner advanced to second after a throwing error on a pickoff attempt. The next batter drove in the runner to tie the game at 7-7.
• Grayson Adams settled in on the mound and induced a double play and a soft pop-up in the next two at-bats to bring the Panthers to the plate in the bottom of the ninth.
• Kelly walked to lead off the inning and stole second with one out but the Lions were able to get the next two Panthers out to escape the inning safely.
• In the top of the 10th inning, Panther relief pitcher, Noah Steckley was able to retire the first two Lions he faced. A two-out single by Ryan Crivello sparked a two-out rally for Saint Leo.
• Crivello would steal second and come around to score on an RBI single to take an 8-7 lead. A double in the next at-bat plated another run to go up 9-7.
• Tech went down in order in the bottom of the 10th to give the game its final score of 9-7.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Florida Tech moves to 65-95-1 all-time against Saint Leo, including a 25-28 record at home against the Lions.
• Jason Blackstone finished 2-for-5 with two RBI.
• Carlos Guzman finished 1-for-1 with four walks, a double, one RBI, and one run scored.
• Noah Burke went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs.

 
UP NEXT: Florida Tech will travel to Lakeland, Fla. on Tuesday, March 19 to take on Florida Southern in a midweek out-of-conference contest. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on Florida Tech Baseball, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.