TAMPA, Fla. – The Florida Tech baseball team battled with top-ranked Tampa in game one of its weekend Sunshine State Conference (SSC) series, but late power from the Spartans proved to be too much for the Panthers to overcome.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Florida Tech 4, No. 1 Tampa 6
Records: Florida Tech (16-21, 8-11 SSC), No. 1 Tampa (32-4, 13-3 SSC)
Location: Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field | Melbourne, Fla.
 
STATS OF THE GAME:

• Jason Blackstone and Brett Kelly began the game with back-to-back singles in the top of the first inning. Tampa would turn a double play and induce a flyout in the next two Panther at-bats to keep Tech off the board.
• Josh Beck worked a scoreless bottom half of the frame and picked up two strikeouts, both looking, along the way.
• Anthony Nunez led off the bottom of the second inning with a solo home run to put Tampa on the board and take a 1-0 lead.
• The Spartans added two runs in the bottom of the fourth with a bases-loaded RBI fielder's choice and a two-out RBI double to extend the lead to 3-0. Beck would pick up his fourth strikeout of the day to end the inning.
• The Panthers threatened in the top of the fifth after Gabe Garrett and Blackstone led off the inning with a single and a walk. Two batters later, Noah Burke grounded into a fielder's choice to bring home Garrett and make it a 3-1 game.
• In the top of the sixth, Jack Matousek would cross the plate for Tech following an error by Tampa on a double play attempt to cut the lead down to 3-2.
• The Spartans threatened in the bottom of the sixth with two runners on and two outs. Ridge Skarbek would take the mound to try and get out of the jam and would induce a fielder's choice to keep the game at 3-2.
• With two outs in the top of the seventh, N. Burke blasted a no-doubt solo home run over the right-center field fence to knot the game at 3-3.
• A two-out, two-run home run from Stephen Klein in the bottom half of the frame would give the lead back to Tampa, 5-3.
• In the top of the eighth, a two-out single into left field from Camden Colman would plate Marshall Burke to bring the Panthers back within one, 5-4.
• The Spartans got that run back in the bottom half of the inning with a bloop single that brought in a run to make it a 6-4 game.
• Tech looked to rally in the top of the ninth inning after Kelly led off with a four-pitch walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and moved over to third on a groundout from N. Burke.
• Tampa closer, Andrew Carson, would strikeout the next two Panthers to end the game with a final score of 6-4.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Florida Tech moves to 34-130 all-time against Tampa, including a 15-72 record all-time on the road against the Spartans.
• Jason Blackstone has reached base safely in 30 straight games played and has tallied a hit in the last six, including five multi-hit efforts.
• Brett Kelly has reached base safely in all 22 games he has played this season and has recorded at least one hit in eight out of his last nine games.
• Gabe Garrett has recorded a hit in eight out of his last nine games played.

 
UP NEXT: The Panthers will conclude the road series tomorrow Saturday, April 13 with a doubleheader against the Spartans. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Tampa, Fla.
 
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