Leonard’s Grand Slam Not Enough Against Armstrong State


After being no-hit in a 12-0 loss Friday Morning against Angelo State in the opening game of the Florida Tech Marriott First Pitch Classic, the Panthers were upended in their afternoon tilt, losing 11-7 to the third -ranked Armstrong State Pirates.

The Panthers only had three hits in the game, the biggest coming off the bat of Hailey Leonard, who hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth, breaking a 3-3 tie.

The Pirates hit four homers in the game against Florida Tech ace, Rachel Pence, two of those coming off the bat of Autumn Parrish.

This was certainly not the way Pence (0-1) envisioned her senior season starting. She gave up nine runs (eight earned) in five innings. Macy Coleman got to Pence early, taking her deep on the third pitch of the game, to give the visiting Pirates a 1-0 lead.

Senior Tori Bates got the start in the circle for Armstrong and she struggled out of the gate as well, as the Panthers answered with three runs in the bottom of the first. Alexus Smith led off with a walk and Krista Patterson doubled off the wall, giving FIT their first hit if the season. Leonard then reached on an error, allowing Smith to cross, tying the game, 1-1.

Patterson would score one out later, on a wild pitch, moving Leonard to third. Makayla Palmer would then reach on a fielder’s choice, scoring Leonard and giving the Panthers a 3-1 lead. Kaitlin Buchholz would draw a walk later in the inning, loading the bases, but Bates got Karina Suicava to strike out, ending the inning.

An RBI single by Connor Weaver in the top of the second made it a 3-2 game and the Pirates would tie it in the fourth with a solo home run off the bat of Parrish, leading off the frame.

The Panthers (0-2) answered back in a big way in the bottom of the inning. Buchholz drew a one out walk, Suicava reached on a fielder’s choice, as Buchholz beat the throw to second. Smith then reached on another fielder’s choice, but the Pirates did retire Suicava on that play, with Buchholz going to third.

Smith kept things going with a steal of second and after Patterson drew a walk to load the bases, Leonard took Bates deep over the center field wall, giving the Panthers a 7-3 lead.

The lead was short-lived for Florida Tech, as the Pirates stormed back with six runs on seven hits in the top of the fifth. After Pence got the first out, she gave up three straight hits and was then victimized by a fielding error. There was a second error on the throw, and just like that, it was 7-6.

An RBI single by Savanna Gladue tied the game and Logan Harrell’s two-run home run gave the visitors a 9-7 lead. They would add the final two runs in the top of the sixth, against relief pitcher Amanda Kahn, on the second home run of the day by Parrish.

For more info: ArmstrongState @ Florida Tech Box Score

The Panthers will look for their first win of the season Saturday, as the tournament continues with a game against Nova Southeastern. First pitch is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Florida Tech will also face Palm Beach Atlantic Saturday, with that game scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start.


This blog is an extension of our website - Sportslowdown.com Follow us on Twitter @sports_lowdown

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Panthers Rout Tarzans in Home Opener

Image
Sam Daniel (0) led the Panthers with 22 points in Monday's 110-84 victory After opening the season with two losses in the South Regional Tipoff Classic over the weekend, the Florida Tech Men’s Basketball team took their frustrations out on Puerto Rico-Mayaguez on Monday, with a 110-84 home victory. “It always feels good to home to the friendly confines of the Clemente Center,” said FIT head coach Billy Mims. “I knew when we got back here we’d shoot the ball better and we knocked down 14 threes’ and that’s the way we’re supposed to shoot the basketball.” Florida Tech (1-2) allowed five double-digit scorers in both losses in Atlanta. On Monday, they only allowed three and they had five of their own, led by Sam Daniel , who finished with 22, despite having only four in the first half. “The first half they had a box-and-one one me, pretty much had a player chasing me wherever I went,” Sam said. “It was an excellent job by my teammates stepping up to score the ball an...
Read more

Panthers Hold Off Furious Sailfish Rally

Image
Jordan Majors - James Ragan Photograaphy The Florida Tech Panthers took all the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish could dish out on Saturday, withstanding a late charge by the home team, to earn a 76-73 Sunshine State Conference victory. “I was really, really pleased with how we never quit,” said Florida Tech coach Billy Mims, in his post-game interview with Jim Mitchell. “Guys could’ve given up, one more mistake could’ve killed us.” Florida Tech (11-6, 4-4 SSC) was led by Jordan Majors 22 points and got 18 from Sam Daniel , who also had 14 rebounds. In the end, this game came down to free-throws, with the Sailfish missing three of their final four free-throws down the stretch and going 8-for-19 overall. On the flip side, the Panthers were 7-for-7 for the game, hitting just two from the charity stripe in the second half. The Sailfish (7-9, 3-6 SSC) led 5-3 with 18:29 left in the first half and never led again. The Panthers got off to a fast start, with Majors, Pat Anderso...
Read more

Panthers Maul Virginia-Lynchburg University in 2017 Opener

Image
Brandon Ziarno - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers opened their 2017 season on Saturday night, earning their second straight home opener shutout. FIT got contributions from all three phases of the game, en route to a 44-0 drubbing of the Virginia-Lynchburg Dragons. The 44 point margin is the largest in the five-year history of the Panthers. Florida Tech (1-0) took a while to get their legs under them, as they led 10-0 at the half. A 15-yard run by Antwuan Haynes and a 20-yard run by starting quarterback Brandon Ziarno highlighted the Panthers opening drive, which culminated in a 20-yard field goal by Kyle Gullikson . “Offensively we started slow, we didn't do things we needed to do early on,” said Florida Tech coach Steve Englehart. “We were adjusting to what we were seeing on defense and that had something to do with it, but ultimately, we just needed to get going and sped up the tempo a little bit.” The Panthers looked primed to scor...
Read more