Panthers Begin Home Stand Tuesday Against Montevallo

By  //  March 25, 2014

FLORIDA TECH SPORTS ROUND-UP

Panthers Looking To Build On Their 5-3 Victory In the Series Finale Last Weekend 

BASEBALL – Nine home games remain in the 2014 season, and the Florida Tech Panthers will play five of those contests this week.

The Panthers begin the week tomorrow evening when they face the Falcons of Montevallo.

After a Wednesday game against Webber International, the Panthers will host a Sunshine State Conference series this weekend against Saint Leo.

The Panthers begin a six-game home stand Tuesday against Montevallo. It will be the first of five games this week for the Panthers. (Florida Tech image)
The Panthers begin a six-game home stand Tuesday against Montevallo. It will be the first of five games this week for the Panthers. (Florida Tech image)

The Panthers (18-11, 3-6 SSC) are looking to build upon their 5-3 victory in the series finale last weekend at No. 6 Lynn. Down, by a run in the ninth inning, senior Andrew Bartlett drove in what proved to be the winning runs.

Fellow senior Dan Bodziak brought home Bartlett to give the Panthers the two-run cushion.

Freshman Grant McKown leads the Panthers with a .380 batting average, and sophomore Austin Allen has a team-leading 24 RBIs. The Panthers have a pitching staff ERA of 3.43, and junior Scotty Ward (5-1) currently has a SSC best 1.31 ERA.

Andrew Bartlett
Andrew Bartlett

Montevallo (17-13, 8-10 PBC) comes to Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field for the first time Tuesday.

The Falcons are out of the Peach Belt Conference, and were swept this past weekend by No. 2 Lander. Will Fulmer leads the Falcons in hitting with a .414 average, and Jackson Slaid leads the club with nine home runs and 39 RBIs.

The Falcons have a pitching staff ERA of 6.22, and opposing batters are hitting with a .293 average.

Grant McKown
Grant McKown

Wednesday’s opponent, Webber International (18-21, 4-11 TSC), is a NAIA Division I member. The Warriors were swept this past weekend by Warner. Shae Cothran leads the Warriors in hitting with a .361 average, and the pitching staff has a 3.37 ERA.

Saint Leo (16-11, 0-6 SSC) was swept by No. 11 Nova Southeastern this past weekend in SSC play. The Lions are led in hitting by Nick Perez. Perez has a .541 batting average in 85 at-bats this season. Five Lions have at least 20 RBIs led by 26 from Taylor Perez. Michael Dunnigan leads the pitching staff with a 4-2 record.

Austin Allen
Austin Allen

The Lions lead the all-time series with the Panthers 60-49-1; however, the Panthers have dominated the series as of late.

The squad won three out of the four games last season, and has won every SSC series between the two teams since the 2010 season.

First pitch Tuesday and Wednesday night is set for 6 p.m. ET. The SSC series against the Lions begins Friday at 6 p.m. ET, and will conclude with a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. Live stats and audio will be available for the games at FloridaTechSports.com. Montevallo will face Palm Beach Atlantic Wednesday afternoon in a neutral site game at Seminick-Hall Field at 2 p.m. 

Last Two Non-Conference Games of Regular Season Await Florida Tech Softball

SOFTBALL  – Florida Tech (21-13) will play its final two non-conference games of the regular season on tomorrow against 24th-ranked Palm Beach Atlantic (21-6) starting at 5 p.m. at the Lake Catherine Sports Complex.

Rachel Pence (left), Nicole Shinsky (right) and the Panthers travel to Palm Beach Gardens tomorrow. (Florida Tech image)
Rachel Pence (left), Nicole Shinsky (right) and the Panthers travel to Palm Beach Gardens tomorrow. (Florida Tech image)

The Panthers are looking to even the season series after the Sailfish won both games of a doubleheader on March 1, 4-1 and 4-2, at Nancy Bottge Field.

FIT is coming off its first Sunshine State Conference series loss of the 2014 campaign to Saint Leo last weekend. The Panthers were able to salvage the three-game set with a 7-6 win in the finale.  Brigit Godfrey came through with a two-run, two-out RBI double in the sixth inning to propel the team to its 21st win.

Brigit Godfrey
Brigit Godfrey

Godfrey now has a team-high 32 hits, which is tied for 10th most in the SSC. She has also scored 22 runs and stolen the fourth-most bases in the league at 16.Elaine Brown is right behind Godfrey with 14 stolen bases. Elizabeth Eby leads the team with a .436 on-base percentage.

Elaine Brown
Elaine Brown

Following a strong start to her collegiate career, freshman Rachel Pence (12-7) has continued to throw the ball well for FIT. Over her last six outings, she’s allowed more than two earned runs only one time. The psychology major from Jacksonville, Fla. is among the SSC’s top 10 in 10 statistical categories. She sits atop the conference in innings pitched (134.1), shutouts (7) complete games (15).

Rachel Pence
Rachel Pence

Palm Beach Atlantic split a doubleheader with St. Thomas last Friday, winning 3-2 in 10 innings before falling 6-4. The Sailfish overcame three errors to win game one. Kayti Lundin, Amber Johnson and Aubree Murphy combined to allow five hits. In game two, Murphy was tagged for three runs in the seventh inning as Palm Beach Atlantic suffered its sixth loss of the season.

Victoria Gonzalez is still tearing the cover off the ball for the Sailfish. She leads the team with a .449 batting average, a .725 slugging percentage and a .519 on-base percentage. Batting right at .400 is Jen Hunter, who leads the squad with 38 hits.

Amber Johnson (11-3) sports a 1.80 ERA heading into the twinbill. Opposing hitters are batting .234 off the sophomore right-hander. Live stats will be available for both games on Tuesday at FloridaTechSports.com/live. Palm Beach Atlantic will provide a live audio broadcast for both games at PBASailfish.com. 

Badenhorst Named SSC Men’s Golfer of the Week

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA — The No. 19 Florida Tech Panthers received some good news Monday afternoon, as junior Ray Badenhorst was named the Sunshine State Conference Men’s Golfer of the Week presented by VALIC. It is the first conference award for men’s golf this season.

Junior Ray Badenhorst has been named the Sunshine State Conference Men's Golfer of the Week presented by VALIC. Badenhorst won the Panther Invitational last week, and the Panthers took home the team championship. (Florida Tech image)
Junior Ray Badenhorst has been named the Sunshine State Conference Men’s Golfer of the Week presented by VALIC. Badenhorst won the Panther Invitational last week, and the Panthers took home the team championship. (Florida Tech image)

Badenhorst, a native of Banket, Zimbabwe, won the Panther Invitational individual championship last week for the second time in his career. The Business Administration major tied the program record for lowest round with a seven-under-par 65 in the second round, and finished the tournament with a three-under-par 213 total. His performance also helped the Panthers win the team championship for the second time in three years, as they topped Saint Leo by two shots.

The Panthers will return to the course for the Buccaneer Invitational, which takes place March 31-April 1. The two-day tournament is hosted by Barry University, and will be played at Normandy Shores Golf Club in Miami Beach.

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