Late Inning Runs Get No. 1 Tampa Past the Panthers
Looking to get this week started on the right foot, the Florida Tech Panthers hosted No. 1 Tampa Tuesday night. The Panthers held an early lead, but the Spartans were able to use two runs in the seventh en route to a 5-3 win.
Jorge Chavarria
After the two teams traded runs in the first, the Panthers took the lead in the second inning. With runners on the corners, freshman Andrew Calderone brought home senior Jorge Chavarriawith a base hit into left field. Freshman David Wilson later brought in the second run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to left-center.
The lead did not last long, as the Spartans tied the game in the top of the third. Stephen Dezzi brought home Jacob Tillotson with a double to right-center. Tyler Ding then scored Dezzi with a base hit to right-center. The runs tied the game up at 3-3.
Austin Allen
The score was deadlocked at three until the Spartans (32-2, 11-1 SSC) retook the lead in the seventh. Tyler York sent a double to left-center, which scored Nick Tindall. Tillotson then brought home the second run of the inning with single to left. The runs gave Tampa a 5-3 lead.
The Panthers (19-16, 3-9 SSC) had one last chance in the ninth inning. With runners on the corners, sophomoreAustin Allen hit a line drive headed down the right-field line, but Ding was able to make a double play at first to end the game.
Greg Berkemeier
“We hit the ball, and their guy made a play,” said head coach Greg Berkemeier. “That is going to happen from time to time. You do not have control once it leaves the bat, all you can do is try to put the ball in play. Austin had a good at bat, and hit the ball hard; it just ended up going into a glove.”
Freshman Luke Lorah (1-2) was hit with the loss. Lorah pitched 1.1 innings out of the bullpen, and gave up two runs on one hit.
Logan LaPace (2-0) earned the win for the Spartans. LaPace threw 1.2 innings, did not allow a hit, and struck out two.
The Panthers will hit the road this weekend when they travel to Winter Park for a Sunshine State Conference series at Rollins. The series gets underway Friday night at 6 p.m. ET.
“Hopefully we can continue to compete like we did tonight,” Berkemeier said. “Rollins is going to be a tough challenge, they always are. It is tough to win there, and we have to figure out a way to go get it done.”
The No. 17 Florida Tech Panthers entered the final round of the Buccaneer Invitational in a tie for fifth place. The squad put together a solid final round Tuesday, but fell one spot to sixth place.
Chris Saltmarsh
“With the exception of our par five scoring, I thought we played fairly well,” said head coach Chris Saltmarsh. “If we can manage ourselves, and score better on the par fives, then I believe we can start hanging with the best teams in the country. If we do not figure that out soon, it is going to be tough making it through regionals and on to nationals.”
The Panthers bounced back from round two with a final round score of 288, and a three-round total of 864. Freshman Joe Ellis bounced back nicely from his second round score of 80, and led the Panthers with a final round three-under-par 68.
The No. 17 Florida Tech Panthers entered the final round of the Buccaneer Invitational in a tie for fifth place. The squad put together a solid final round Tuesday, but fell one spot to sixth place. (Florida Tech image)
Junior Ryan Carter was two-over-par with a 73 in the final round. JuniorRay Badenhorst also finished the final round with a 73, and fellow juniorJustin Kalanquin recorded a final round of 74. Badenhorst and Kalanquin were the top finishing Panthers, as both had a three-round total of 216. Freshman Brett Krog also shot a 74 for the final round to complete the scoring for the Panthers.
No. 1 Barry won the team championship by 22 shots over Johnson & Wales with a three-round total of 831. Adam Svensson of Barry won the individual championship by six shots over teammate Nico Cavero.
The Panthers will be off from competition next week, but will return to the course for the Sunshine State Conference Championships beginning on April 13. The SSC Championships take place at the Lake Jovita Golf Club in Dade City, and run from April 13-15.
Men’s Tennis Cancels Thursday’s Match Against Warner
No. 44 Florida Tech (6-7) has canceled its match against No. 18 Warner University (11-0). The Panthers were slated to take on the Royals on Thursday, April 3 at the DeSoto Tennis Courts. The match will not be made up.
No. 44 Florida Tech returns to action on Friday, April 5 against Palm Beach Atlantic. (Florida Tech image)
FIT takes on future Sunshine State Conference member Palm Beach Atlantic University (10-8) on Friday, April 4 at 3 p.m. at DeSoto.
The match will be Florida Tech’s first in two weeks and was originally scheduled for Feb. 21.
