Sports Lowdown

Daniel Szpik - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Florida Tech handed the Tampa Spartans their second loss in conference play on Friday night, as Daniel Szpik hit two homers in a 14-8 win over the Spartans. Florida Tech out hit Tampa 12-10. The Panthers used a seven-run second inning and kept the high-powered Spartans at arm’s length all night, earning a huge Sunshine State Conference win.  Szpik went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and scored three runs, while John Sternagel homered and drove in three. Tampa (21-8, 8-2 SSC) jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Florida Tech starter Ty Cohen . J.D Osborne had a sac fly, Laz Rivera had an infield hit and Vin Cosenzo’s RBI ground out gave Tampa the early lead. The Panthers got one run back in the bottom of the inning, when David Wilson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The bottom of the second was the difference in the game. The Panthers sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven times, against Tampa starter G...

Rachel Pence - Photo credit: James Ragan Starting pitcher Lexie Storrer retired 20 of 23 Florida Tech batters on Friday, leading the Nova Southeastern Sharks to a 2-0 Sunshine State Conference win at Nancy Bottge Field. The Sharks (20-17) got on the board immediately, with a leadoff home run from Dana Edmundson, against Panthers starter Rachel Pence . Edmundson showed why she leads the team in hitting, sending one off the top of the right field wall that bounced over, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead. An error and singles from Storrer and Alex Suzuki led to the Sharks second run and that was more than enough on this day. On the mound Storrer allowed one hit in her complete-game effort, giving up a single to Krista Patterson in the fourth inning. Hailey Leonard walked in the bottom of the first, but was erased on a caught stealing. The only other baserunner the Panthers had was Kaitlin Buchholz , who reached on an error in the fifth. Karina Suicava appeared to ...

Daniel Flock - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Despite being overtaken in many of the key categories, the Florida Tech Men’s lacrosse team won their fourth consecutive game Saturday, beating host Lynn 11-10 in the Sunshine State Conference opener for both teams. Florida Tech (5-4, 1-0 SSC) was outshot 49-37, they lost the faceoff battle 37-29 and lost eight of 15 faceoffs. Despite all that, the Panthers won where it mattered… on the scoreboard. Addison Abramson scored the decisive goal with his Panthers a man down. It was only the second goal of the season for him, but it may be awhile before he scores a bigger one. Reid Chaconas led the Panthers with two goals and two assists and Nick Wynne added two goals. An impressive performance by Daniel Flock in goal, made those points count. Flock allowed 10 goals, but made 16 saves, nine of those in the third quarter. At the other end, Collin McClelland made 10 saves for the Fighting Knights, while giving up ...

Nick Capra - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography After helping the Panthers come from behind in game one with his walk-off single, Ryan Sinzenich put together a 3-for-5, for RBI performance in game two, leading the Panthers to a 9-3 victory over Lynn on Saturday. Nick Capra was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Both teams had 12 hits in the contest, but the Panthers were the more productive bunch, scoring eight earned runs. Florida Tech starter Andy Marzheuser was the beneficiary, as he improved to 5-1. He went five innings, allowing just one run on six hits. He walked one and struck out five. The Florida Tech offense got started early, scoring twice in the second inning against Fighting Knights starter Michael Imperato. Capra walked and went to third one out later, on a passed ball. He scored on a ground out by Sinzenich. After Kevin Capella singled back to the mound, Zac Orchard doubled him home. Capra got the fourth inning off to a good start wi...

Amanda Kahn - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers were back at it Saturday afternoon, wrapping up their three-game series with Rollins College. The Panthers, who came away with a 3-1 win on Friday, completed the series sweep with a 2-0 win in game one and a 6-5 victory in game two. The Panthers needed these wins badly, as they have struggled early in Sunshine State Conference play. They were 1-5 going into the weekend and suddenly, they are just one game below .500 in the conference. Amanda Kahn and Rachel Pence were the Panthers pitchers for the day, each picking up a win and a save on the day. Kahn (6-4) pitched well in game one, giving up two hits in her 4.2 innings of work. She walked two and struck out two, throwing 66 pitches, 44 for strikes. Her team gave her all the support she needed in the top of the first. Alexus Smith started things with a single, against Rollins starter Grace Street. She was out at second on a field...

Ryan Sinzenich - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography For the second consecutive day, the Florida Tech Panthers used late inning heroics to beat the visitors from Lynn University. The Panthers scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth Saturday, sending them to a 4-3 come-from-behind win in game one of a doubleheader. Ryan Sinzenich singled to right field in the bottom of the ninth, plating pinch-runner Raul Quintero with the winning run. This just hours after the Panthers came from behind to win 8-5 on Friday night, in game one of the series. It was a pitchers’ duel early, as Panthers hurler Tyler Deel and Lynn starter Frank Grandinette made it hard on the offenses for the early part of the game. Deel retired 13 of the first 14 he faced, allowing a home run to Karl Ellison in the second inning. Grant McKown got the first hit for the Panthers to start the bottom of the fourth, but he was erased when Reid Neal hit into a double play. Ellison started Lynn’s hal...

Rachel Pence - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech softball team got a much-needed conference win on the road Friday night, beating Rollins College, 3-1. Rachel Pence pitched a complete game, helping the Panthers improve to 17-17 overall and 2-5 in the Sunshine State Conference. Pence allowed one run on five hits, picking up her 11 th win of the season. She struck out six and walked three. The Panthers offense spread out six hits, by six different players. Florida Tech took advantage of the early struggles of Rollins pitcher Sarah Piening. Alexus Smith drew a walk to leadoff the game and went to second on a wild pitch. Hailey Leonard singled, putting runners at the corners. After Leonard stole second and Krista Patterson flew out, Vanessa Rubio ’s fielder’s choice plated the Panthers first run. The Panthers got their second run when Makayla Palmer struck out and Rollins catcher Abigail Sexton threw to second, trying to get Rubio stealing. T...

John Sternagel went 2-for-5 with 4 RBI's Friday night -  Photo credit: James Ragan Photography John Sternagel propelled the Florida Tech Panthers to an 8-5 come-from behind win over Lynn Friday night, in a Sunshine State Conference baseball showdown. Sternagel hit two-run home runs in the seventh and eighth inning, helping FIT secure their first conference win of the season. Nick Capra also contributed in a big way, with three hits and three RBIs. I think we got a gritty club,” said Sternagel. “It would’ve been easy down 5-1, to say maybe we’ll just come back at it tomorrow, but instead, we just kept fighting and kept grinding and ended up with a W.” Things did not start well for the Panthers, who left the bases loaded in the second inning and were down 2-0 in the third when Panthers starter Ty Cohen gave up a two-run home run off the bat of Miguel Ceballos. The Panthers did get a run back in the bottom of the inning, when Daniel Szpik doubled and came home on...

David Wilson had two of the Panthers four hits on Tuesday - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography After taking two of three games over the weekend at home, the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish got another win over Florida Tech on Tuesday, beating the Panthers 7-1, at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field. Tuesday’s game was a regional matchup, but it was a game the Panthers needed to win, after dropping the weekend series. Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t put much together, getting just four hits against Sailfish pitching. The Panthers (14-11) had chances, with the Sailfish hurlers giving up 11 free passes. The problem for the Panthers was that they couldn’t push any of them across, leaving 13 on base. Florida Tech starter Grant Willcoxon had an up and down night over his five innings of work. He gave up seven hits and struck out seven, with only one of his three runs being earned. The first two runs he allowed in the second inning, were unearned, thanks to a fielding e...

The Orlando City Soccer Club got their season off to a 2-0 start, beating the Philadelphia Union Saturday night at Orlando City Stadium. Cyle Larin scored in the 39 th minute and broke a 1-1 tie in the 73 rd minute, giving the Lions a big three points. They now have a game in hand on the rest of the Eastern Conference, with their game in New England on March 12, being postponed. They will play that game in September. Orlando City (2-0) dominated in their third of the field in the first half, backing the Philadelphia defense up for much of the first half hour. Philadelphia came within inches of gifting the Lions a goal in the 20 th minute when José Aja drove a long ball toward the Union goal, that was headed backwards by Oguchi Onyewu and went off the Union crossbar. Larin’s first goal came about 20 minutes later, on a great cross pass from Carlos Rivas , who found Larin and he was able to push it home from point blank range. As you would expect, the 25,527 support...

Ryan Sinzenich - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers scored seven runs in the fifth inning Saturday and hung on for a 10-6 win over Palm Beach Atlantic, in game one of a doubleheader. Game two did not fall the Panthers way, as they fell by the score of 4-3. The Sailfish used six pitchers in game one, trying to slow down a Florida Tech offense that got off to a quick start. John Sternagel doubled against Palm Beach Atlantic starter Tyler Hawks. He was sacrificed to third by Kevin Capella and scored on a ground out by Reid Neal . PBA answered, scoring a run off Panthers starter Tyler Deel . Sean Visconti hit into a double play, but Evan Dougherty scored, tying the game. PBA grabbed the lead in the bottom of the third, when Visconti doubled home Dougherty. The score stayed that way until the top of the fifth, when Florida Tech exploded for seven runs. Sternagel singled and later scored on a Grant McKown base hit, tying the game at two. C...

Alexus Smith  - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography After hitting home runs in separate innings in game one , Alexus Smith and Hailey Leonard went back-to-back in game two, helping the Florida Tech Panthers to a 5-3 win over Palm Beach Atlantic and a split of a Saturday doubleheader at Nancy Bottge Field. Smith had two of the Panthers four hits in the contest and scored two runs. “This was big,” said Panthers coach Val Silvestrini. “I feel like we’re getting better in conference play and getting used to this series now.” As they did in game one, the Sailfish drew first blood in game two. Alexis Guerra led off with a double against Panthers starter Amanda Kahn . She later scored on a double by Magnolia West, giving the visitors an early 1-0 lead. Florida Tech (16-17) got that run back in the bottom of the third, against Palm Beach Atlantic starter Ashton Adkins. Smith started things with a single and Leonard was hit by a pitch. Krista Patterson hit into ...

Hailey Leonard went 2-for-3 in game 1 - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography It is odd to call a game that had a 4-3 final score a slugfest, but when the game features four home runs, including the game winner, it seems appropriate. That was the situation Florida Tech softball was in Saturday, as they came up on the short end, in game one of a doubleheader against Palm Beach Atlantic. “We battled,” said Panthers coach Val Silvestrini. “I thought both teams played well, but we just need to do the little things better.” PBA (16-11) struck first, against Panthers starter Rachel Pence . Kayla Knight started off the top of the second with a single and later scored on a two-bagger by Michaela Hynes. The top of the third would produce one more run for the Sailfish, but it probably should have been more Maddie Bertisch started the inning with what seemed to be an innocent pop to short. The ball went off the glove of Krista Patterson and Bertisch inexplicably rounded th...

Ty Cohen (41) took the loss Friday night - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Florida Tech fell one run short at Palm Beach Atlantic Friday night, losing 5-4 in a regional baseball matchup at Rubin Park, in West Palm Beach. Panthers starter Ty Cohen took the loss, giving up five runs on 10 hits, in five innings of work. Reid Neal , Grant McKown , Ryan Sinzenich and Trent Masih all had two hits for the Panthers in the losing cause. The Sailfish were led by Sean Visconti, who went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. PBA (16-9) landed the first blows, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first. Jake Summy reached on a Neal error, getting all the way to second base. After a Visconti single, Andrew Calderone chased Summy home with the first run and a Peter Rivera RBI single made it 2-0. After leaving three on base in the top of the first, the Panthers were held in check by Sailfish pitcher Josh Turner, until the top of the fifth. James Gronberg walked and stole second...

Karina Suicava - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Florida Tech softball won its fourth consecutive game Friday afternoon, taking down the visiting Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish by the score of 8-1, in the opener of a three-game series. “We played really well in all three areas, pitching offense and defense,” said Panthers coach Val Silvestrini. “That was going to be our challenge for this year and I’m really proud of the way we played today.” The Panthers used home runs from Julianna Goldberg and Karina Suicava , along with a stellar pitching performance from Rachel Pence , who allowed just three hits and struck out seven en route to her 10 th win of the season. “She did awesome, it’s all about her hitting her spots and having the right spin,” said Panthers coach Val Silvestrini, of Pence. “I think she’s doing a much better job lately with that and she called a great game.” Florida Tech (15-16) got to Sailfish starter Ashton Adkins early, scoring three ru...

Aleah Fjelstad   - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The 12 th ranked Florida Tech women’s lacrosse team continued their winning ways Thursday night, pounding first year program Concordia-St. Paul, 20-5. It was the eighth consecutive victory for the Panthers, who have been playing lights out as of late. Aleah Fjelstad scored four goals and two assists to lead the home team. Sara Grenier , Mary Gormley and Allie Modica all posted hat tricks for the Panthers, while Caroline Dunleavy had a goal and an assist hat trick. It was a long night for Concordia-St. Paul goalie Katie Lottsfeldt, who saw the Panthers fire 35 shots, 31 of those on goal. She made 11 saves. Her counterpart Stephanie Stuart continued her stellar play in the Panthers net, making four saves. Chloe Zador played the second half in place of Stuart and she allowed two goals. Fjelstad and Lauren Tybor scored 17 seconds apart, getting the Panthers off and running less than three minutes int...

Rachel Pence - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Florida Tech got their second win of the day on Wednesday, in convincing fashion, beating Kutztown University 5-2. Rachel Pence , who earned a no-decision in the Panthers 5-4 win over the Caldwell Cougars in the morning game, came back with a complete game three hitter in game two. Pence (9-9) has had her struggles this year and their game been times her defense has let her down, but in this game, Pence was on top of her game, striking out seven, to go along with the six she had in game one. She only gave up one hit in the first six innings. Sara Keeny laid down a bunt single. That was long after the Panthers offense gave Pence a nice cushion. Florida Tech (14-16) got on the board in the bottom of the first. Katie Maiello drew a one out walk and came home on a Krista Patterson double. Patterson then scored when Makayla Palmer reached on an error, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead. The Panthers added to the lead i...