MELBOURNE, FLA. – Florida Tech Baseball opened the conference schedule this evening with game one of a three-game set with Palm Beach Atlantic. With three home runs from
Marcello Cortale and another dominant start from
Jacob Pino, Tech cruised to their first win in conference play.
SUNSHINE STATE CONFERENCE OPENER
Final: Florida Tech Panthers 18, Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish 6
Records: Florida Tech (6-3, 1-0 SSC)
| Palm Beach Atlantic (4-5, 0-1 SSC)
Location: Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field
| Melbourne, Florida
GAME NOTES:
- Jacob Pino took the ball for the Panthers and began his night by striking out the first batter he faced and going 1-2-3 in the top of the first.
- Tech earned the first hit of the game in the bottom half when Adrian Dominguez singled to left field.
- The second inning is when the onslaught began for the Panthers. Six of the first seven batters earned hits to begin the inning as the crimson and grey hung a five-spot on PBA.
- Pino responded to his offense exploding by producing his second 1-2-3 frame in the top of the third for a clean shutdown inning.
- Marshall Burke added another run for the Panthers with an RBI single and Tech led 6-0 after three innings of play.
- A Panther error allowed PBA to get on the board in the fourth, but Pino answered with two straight strikeouts to end the inning and leave two Sailfish stranded on the base paths.
- In the bottom of the fifth, Marcello Cortale and Jeff Davis both homered, Gabe Roque smashed an RBI double off the wall and Adrian Dominguez picked up his third hit of the game as Tech blew the game open, leading 10-1.
- To finish his outing, Jacob Pino struck out the side in the top of the sixth to set his new career high with 11 strikeouts.
- Marcello Cortale continued his electric start to his college career as he launched his second home run of the game, a two-run shot to straightaway center field to grow the lead to double digits.
- The Panthers were not even close to being done as they produced a six-run bottom of the seventh, including a third moonshot from Cortale.
- With the lead 18-1, Jake Hershey made his collegiate debut and despite giving up a run, the Freshman struck out the final three batters he faced.
- While the Sailfish added four more runs in the top of the ninth, Tech rolled their way to a 12-run win to open the conference slate.
FINAL: Florida Tech Panthers 18, Palm Beach Atlantic 6
NOTABLE PANTHERS:
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Marcello Cortale is the first Panther since 2010 to produce a three-home run game and is the second player in back-to-back seasons to log 6 RBI against PBA.
- Jacob Pino not only set his career high with 11 strikeouts but also became the first Panther to reach that total since Boris Villa in 2022 against Eckerd.
- The Panthers improve to 9-6 against PBA at home in conference play all-time with tonight's win.
UP NEXT: The Panthers and Sailfish will turn around and play again on Saturday as they wrap up the series with a doubleheader. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1:00 PM with the final game of the series set for 45 minutes after the completion of the first game.
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