TAMPA, Fla. – The Florida Tech baseball team dropped both games of its doubleheader to top-ranked Tampa on Saturday afternoon, completing the series sweep for the Spartans.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Game 1 Final: Florida Tech 0, No. 1 Tampa 13
Game 2 Final: Florida Tech 11, No. 1 Tampa 19
Records: Florida Tech (16-23, 8-13 SSC), No. 1 Tampa (34-4, 15-3 SSC)
Location: Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field | Melbourne, Fla.
 
STATS OF GAME 1:

• Jason Blackstone led off the game with a single through the right side and proceeded to steal second, but the next three Panthers would be retired to end the threat.
• Tampa exploded for six runs in the bottom of the first, sending 10 hitters to the plate in the inning and totaling six hits.
• The Spartans tacked on another run in the bottom of the second to push the lead out to 7-0.
• Pitching in relief, Mitch Harding took the mound for Tech and kept the Spartans off the board for the next few innings, including a stretch where he retired nine straight Tampa hitters.
• The Spartans offense put up another six runs in the bottom of the fifth on four hits and two Panthers errors to extend the lead to 13-0.
• Camden Colman breathed some life into the Panthers' lineup with a two-out double in the top of the seventh, but he would be stranded there after the next hitter struck out.
• Carlos Guzman slapped a single through the infield in the top of the ninth, but the next three batters struck out to end the game and give the game a final score of 13-0.

 
STATS OF GAME 2:

• The Spartans jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the bottom of the first inning with five hits in the opening frame.
• Back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the second gave Tampa an 8-0 lead.
• Danny Vassallo settled in on the mound and retired the next six Spartans in a row.
• In the top of the fifth, an RBI Fielder's choice from Gabe Garrett gave Tech its first run of the day and made it an 8-1 game.
• Tampa answered with four more runs in the bottom half of the frame to extend the lead to 12-1.
• The Panthers got one back in the top of the sixth after Brett Kelly led off the inning with a triple and was brought home with an RBI ground out by Guzman.
• Once again, the Spartans would respond in the bottom of the inning, this time with seven runs on five hits and one Panther error.
• In the top of the seventh, Tech loaded the bases to start the inning with a single followed by back-to-back walks. Back-to-back RBI bases knocks brought in four runs, including a bases-clearing double from Kelly, to make it a 19-6 game.
• In the next at-bat, Guzman singled home Kelly and a few batters later, Marshall Burke brought Guzman home with a single of his own to cut the lead down to 19-8.
• Still in the top of the seventh, a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch to Jack Matousek and a sacrifice fly from Joseph Phan added on two more runs to give the game a score of 19-10.
• In the top of the ninth, Colman doubled down the right-field line to lead off the inning and would come around to score on an RBI single from Garrett, but that would be all the Panthers could muster in the final frame to give the game a final score of 19-11.

 
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 32 straight games played and has tallied at least one hit in the last seven, including six multi-hit efforts.
• With his single in the top of the second inning, Marshall Burke became the first freshman to total 50 hits in a season since James Gronberg ('19) did in the 2016 season.
• Brett Kelly finished game two a home run shy of the cycle.

 
UP NEXT: The Panthers will host Barry next weekend on Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20 for a weekend conference series. First pitch for game one is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field in Melbourne, Fla.
 
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