MELBOURNE, FLA. – Florida Tech Baseball returned home this evening to open their three-game series against SSC foe Eckerd College.
SSC PLAY – SERIES OPENER
Final: Florida Tech Panthers 5, Eckerd College Tritons 0
Records: Florida Tech (17-21, 8-14 SSC)
| Eckerd (26-11, 14-5 SSC)
Location: Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field
| Melbourne, Florida
GAME NOTES:
- The Panthers opened up the game with a bang. After AJ Wydra tossed a scoreless first inning, Justis Meadows and Connor Wiggins led off the bottom half with back-to-back walks. Two outs later, Marshall Burke singled up the middle to score both Panthers and Tech took a 2-0 lead.
- In his first start in nearly a month, AJ Wydra was flawless. The Senior was nearly untouchable, going a dominant five straight shutout innings and only allowing three hits.
- In those five innings, Joseph Phan, Conner Wiggins, Jeff Davis and Justis Meadows all earned base hits, but the scoreline remained 2-0.
- Reilly Kuhar entered the game in relief in the top of the sixth and despite giving up a pair of base runners, worked through the traffic to preserve the shutout.
- Blake Holshouser took the ball in the seventh and was lights out, throwing a hit less frame and picking up a strikeout to end the inning.
- Wanting to put the game out of reach, the Panther offense went back to work in the bottom of the seventh and exploded for another multi-run inning. Jeff Davis sparked the rally with a one-out single and scored when the next batter, Justis Meadows, doubled to the left-center wall.
- A pair of walks from Conner Wiggins and Adrain Dominguez loaded the bases and Marcello Cortale pushed across another run with a base hit to left field. Not done yet, Marshall Burke picked up his third RBI of the ballgame with a single to center field to make it 5-0 Panthers.
- With a five-run lead, Holshouser sat down the next six batters in back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the eighth and ninth to close out the win.
FINAL: Florida Tech 5, Eckerd 0
NOTABLE PANTHERS:
- AJ Wydra – WIN (5-2) – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K's, 0 R
- Blake Holshouser – SAVE (5) – 3.0 IP, 3 K's, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB
- Justis Meadows – 2-4, 2 Runs, RBI, Double, Walk
- Marshall Burke – 2-4, 3 RBI
- Joseph Phan – 2-4, 2 Doubles
UP NEXT: The Panthers and Tritons will be back in action tomorrow afternoon to wrap up the series. Starting at 1:00 PM, the two teams will square off in a doubleheader with the final game of the series beginning 40 minutes after the completion of first game.
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