Home » Florida Tech Panther Softball Defeats Florida Southern 7-4 Thanks To Four Home Runs

Florida Tech Panther Softball Defeats Florida Southern 7-4 Thanks To Four Home Runs

By  //  February 15, 2020

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Vanessa Rubio slams 2 homeruns

Florida Tech opened its 2019 Sunshine State Conference title defense with a weekend series against Florida Southern. The Panthers won the opening game of the series, 7-4, thanks to four long balls. (FIT Image)

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Florida Tech opened its 2019 Sunshine State Conference title defense with a weekend series against Florida Southern. The Panthers won the opening game of the series, 7-4, thanks to four long balls.

Vanessa Rubio had herself a game as she went 2/3 with two home runs to left-center field. Jaden Kline and Tina Velazquez Rolon both joined Rubio in the home run category. Cheyenne Nelson, Rubio and Kline all had two runs while Velazquez Rolon tallied the other one for the team. In terms of RBI, Kline and Rubio earned a pair and Velazquez Rolon collected one.

Velazquez Rolon (2-2) started the game for Florida Tech and put in 3.1 innings of work in which she gave up two runs on four hits and sent three back to the dugout on strikes.

Jordan Lawlis came in and got the save as she pitched the final 3.2 frames and only surrendered two runs, one earned, on three hits and had four strikeouts.

The Crimson & Gray opened the game on fire as they made quick work of the Mocs in the top half of the first inning. Then in their first turn at the plate, the Panthers had three cross the plate.

The first two came across when Kline took off for second base and Florida Southern’s catcher sent it deep into right field, which allowed both Nelson and Kline to cross the plate.

The third run of the first came off the bat of Rubio as she hit Tech’s first home run of the season. The second dinger of the year came two innings later as Kline sent one to left-center field just like her catching counterpart and this made it 5-0 as Nelson was already on the bases.

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In the top of the fourth, Florida Southern did bring in two runs of their own and brought the score to 5-2. Florida Tech made it a five-run advantage again in the bottom of the fifth as Rubio and Velazquez Rolon hit solo homers in consecutive at-bats.

These home runs would be the final time Florida Tech scored as the final few frames the Mocs fielders dominated as they tried to complete a comeback but they only tallied two more runs as the Panthers won, 7-4.

Florida Tech looks to complete the sweep Saturday, Feb. 15, as they will finish the conference opening series with a doubleheader. The first of the two games against the Mocs will start at noon ET.

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