Sports Lowdown

The Florida Tech softball team needed a win badly and they got it on Tuesday, beating the University of Alabama in Huntsville 2-1, snapping an eight-game losing streak in the process. After losing game one of the series Monday night, to the 16 th ranked Chargers, the Panthers earned the split on this night, though it didn’t come easily. Panthers starter Rachel Pence pitched a complete game, giving up one run on four hits. She struck out two and did not walk a batter, throwing 89 pitches. Chargers starter Emily Glover kept pace for the first four innings, as neither team could get a hit. Audrey Gangloff finally broke the seal, picking up the game's first with a leadoff single in the fifth. She was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Kaitlin Buchholz , but Glover retired the next two to keep the game scoreless. Florida Tech (11-12) finally got on the board in the sixth, starting with Krista Patterson reaching on an error. Vanessa Rubio got her to second on a groun...

The University of Alabama in Huntsville scored six runs in the first inning on Monday, propelling the home team to a 7-1 victory over Florida Tech. UAH is ranked 16 th nationally and they showed why, scoring four runs against Panthers starter Rachel Pence , who faced six batters and only retiring one. UAH starter Tyler Harrison was in control from the start, going the distance and allowing one run on five hits. She struck out nine and did not walk a batter, throwing 117 pitches. She handed the Panthers their eighth straight loss. Haley Thompson started the game with a single and that was followed by back-to-back home runs by Kaitlyn Bannister and Taylor Wascavage. After an error allowed Harrison to reach, the Panthers recorded an out on a fielder’s choice. It was a short reprieve, because Reagan Malone doubled in another run, giving the Chargers a 4-0 lead. That was the end of the day for Pence (7-7), who pitched 0.1 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hi...

The Embry-Riddle Eagles took advantage of three Florida Tech errors on Friday night, en route to a 5-1 softball victory. Makayla Palmer went 2-for-3, while Alexus Smith , Julianna Goldberg and Audrey Gangloff had the other three Florida Tech hits against Embry-Riddle pitcher Illona Andringa. Andringa went the distance, giving up one run and striking out eight. Eryn Chester got things started for the Eagles in the top of the first, with a single up the middle against Florida Tech starter Rachel Pence. Maggie Scott would single later in the inning, bringing Chester home with the first run. A throwing error, coupled with a failed pickoff attempt, resulted in two more runs for the Eagles and a 3-0 lead. Embry-Riddle (5-10) would tack on two more in the bottom of the third. Chester led off with a single and scored on a double by Anna Battison. Scott would bring her home with a sacrifice fly to left, giving the home team a commanding 5-0 lead. Florida Tech (10-9) got ...

The Florida Tech softball team split a doubleheader with Valdosta State on Tuesday, winning game one 11-2, before dropping the second game 6-5. The Panthers did all their damage in two of the five innings played in the first game, pounding out 13 hits. Alexus Smith finished game one 3-for-4 and the Karina Suicava , who has done a great job in the nine spot for the Panthers in the early going, finishing 3-for-3 on Tuesday, with two RBIs. Rachel Pence (7-2) gave up five hits in her five innings of work, with both Valdosta State runs coming in the first inning. She walked two and did not strike out a batter. Blazers pitcher Avery Lamb went the first three innings, with the Panthers exploding for seven runs in the top of the third. Suicava and Smith singled and Krista Patterson drew a walk to load the bases. Vanessa Rubio doubled in two, tying the game and the Panthers were off and running. Hailey Leonard ’s RBI ground out made it 3-2 and Makayla Palmer had an RBI...

The Armstrong State Pirates got their second win over the Florida Tech Panthers in about two weeks, as the visitors scored a 4-3 victory Sunday, in the Florida Tech Marriott Brawl at the Beach tournament. Sierra Peebles (5-0), who was fresh off a no-hitter on Saturday against East Stroudsburg, was back in the circle Sunday and the Panthers got to her early, scoring twice in the bottom of the third. Karina Suicava singled, extending her hitting streak to eight games. Alexus Smith then grounded one to third, that was fired over the head of the second baseman and into right field. Suicava scored on the play and Smith made it all the way to third. Krista Patterson then hit a sac fly, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Florida Tech starter Rachel Pence kept the Pirates off the board until the fifth inning, when Tazha Williams sent one over the wall, cutting the lead in half, 2-1. It was quite a turnaround for the Pirates, who had a rare unsportsmanlike conduct warning issu...

The Florida Tech softball team sent 15 batters to the plate in the fourth inning Saturday, scoring 11 runs in the frame and beating Stonehill 14-3, in a game that went four and a half innings before being called. Amanda Kahn pitched four innings, to secure the win. The Panthers (9-3) pounded out 11 hits in the romp, led by Karina Suicava who went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Makayla Palmer drove in three runs as well. Suicava got things started in the bottom of the second with a bases loaded single off Skyhawks starter Jennifer Mayette. Rachel Kraak , Audrey Gangloff and Alexus Smith all had hits in the inning. A wild pitch scored Smith with the third run of the inning. Stonehill (0-3) got two runs back in the top of the third inning, both unearned against Kahn. Erin Brayden drove the runs in with a single. Taylor Whaley followed that with a single, but Kraak threw Brayden out at the plate, ending the inning. The Skyhawks did tie the game ...

The Marriott Brawl at the Beach tournament got off to a great start for Florida Tech softball team Friday, as they beat East Stroudsburg 9-1. The game was called in the bottom of the sixth, as the eight-run rule kicked in. Amanda Khan went the distance for the Panthers on the mound, allowing one run on five hits, walking one and striking out one. She got a rare at-bat in a pinch-hitting role in the sixth inning and drew a walk. Mary Wallick started in the circle for the Warriors and immediately ran into trouble not of her own doing. Florida Tech (8-3) got two runs in the bottom of the first on an absolute gift. Alexus Smith started the inning with a double, her first of three hits on the day. One out later Hailey Leonard hit one to short that was fielded cleanly, but the throw to second to keep Smith there, was thrown wide and into right field. The ball then got by the fielder, allowing not only Smith, but Leonard to score. With that, the Panthers were up 2-0. ...

The Florida Tech softball team entered the final day of the NFCA Division II Leadoff Classic undefeated, but the Lions of Texas A&M-Commerce changed that, with a 9-4 victory over the Panthers. The Lions scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, turning a 3-2 deficit into an 8-3 lead and they never looked back. Alexus Smith and Vanessa Rubio both went 2-for4 at the plate for FIT.   Makayla Palmer was 2-for-3. Texas A &M-Commerce got on the board in the bottom of the second against Florida Tech starter Amanda Kahn . After being hit by a pitch, Vanessa Avina got to second on a ground out and stole third. She came home on home on a ground out by December Rivers. The Panthers answered in the top of the third, putting a run in the board against Lions starter Kinsie Hebler. Krista Patterson drew a walk and went to third on a double by Smith. A sac fly by Hailey Leonard tied things up, 1-1. The Panthers (6-3) struck for two in the top of the fourth...

After picking up her 200 th career win in Friday night’s win over St. Mary’s , Florida Tech softball coach Val Silvestrini started her trek toward 300 when the Panthers beat the Wayne State Warriors Saturday morning, by the score of 8-0. The game went just four-plus innings, with Rachel Pence pitching her fifth complete game of the season. She allowed just one hit and struck out three, not walking a batter. The Panthers (5-2) got the offense going early, with three runs in the bottom of the first. Krista Patterson started things with a walk against Wayne State starter Haley Hurd and moved to second on a passed ball. After Alexus Smith drew a walk, Hailey Leonard singled to right, scoring Patterson.  Leonard advanced to second on an error and Smith scored the second run. Makayla Palmer had an RBI groundout later in the inning, for the third run. Florida Tech blew things open in the fourth inning, scoring four more runs. Julianna Goldberg reached on an e...

The Florida Tech softball team extended their win streak to four Friday night, with a 5-2 win over the St. Mary’s Rattlers in the nightcap of the NFCA Division II Leadoff Classic. Rachel Pence (4-1) who was pitching her fifth game of the season for the Panthers, went the distance, giving up one earned run on four hits, striking out nine and not allowing a walk. It was the fourth complete game of the season for Pence. St. Mary’s (6-2) got on the board in the bottom of the first with the help of an error and an RBI single by Brenda Iparraguirre. The Panthers answered in the bottom of the frame against St Mary’s starter Staci Johns. Makayla Palmer reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second. She came home on a double by Julianna Goldberg . Goldberg would later be thrown out stealing third and Audrey Gangloff would strike out, ending the inning. After Johns struck out the first two batters of the fourth, the Panthers put together a four-run rally to pull away fro...

The Florida Tech Panthers finished their five-game weekend on a high note Sunday, beating Angelo State 4-3, in the finale of the Florida Tech Marriott First Pitch Classic. The Rambelles came into Sunday’s game undefeated and were looking for their second win over the Panthers in about 48 hours. They throttled Florida Tech in the tournament opener on Friday, 12-0 on the strength of a no-hitter by Brandy Marlett. Marlett was on the mound again Sunday, but things got off to a rocky start for her when she walked four batters, including a bases loaded walk to Julianna Goldberg . That allowed Krista Patterson to trot home with the Panthers first run. Marlett had walked four previous hitters in the tournament to that point, so this was not the way she expected to start. Florida Tech pitcher Rachel Pence did not throw against the Angelo State on Friday, but she pitched game two of the tournament Friday and went on to pitch both games Saturday . That didn’t keep her from mak...

The Florida Tech softball team bounced back from two losses on Friday, with an early morning 5-0 win over the Nova Southeastern Sharks in the Florida Tech Marriott First Pitch Classic. Panthers pitcher Rachel Pence , who suffered a rare lopsided loss on Friday, looked more like herself on Saturday, giving up just three hits in a complete-game shutout. She struck out five and didn’t walk a batter. FIT got on the board in the bottom of the first, with Krista Patterson drawing a leadoff walk and moving to second on an illegal pitch out of the hand of Megan Granitto. Two outs later, Vanessa Rubio singled Patterson home and gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead. The Panthers added to their lead, when Julianna Goldberg took Granitto deep and out for her first home run of the season. Audrey Gangloff followed her, hitting a grounder to third that was misplayed, allowing her to go all the way to third. That ended the day for Granitto, who was relieved by Erica Winter. The Shark...