Sports Lowdown

Ty Cohen - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The top of the Panthers order combined to go 9-for-15 on Friday night, leading the Florida Tech baseball team to a 10-2 conference victory over the Barry Buccaneers in the series opener. Reid Neal capped the game with a grand slam in the top of the ninth. The Panthers (19-13, 5-5 SSC) pounded out 16 hits and got a good performance from starting pitcher Ty Cohen , who went six innings, allowing eight hits and two earned runs. He threw 104 pitches, striking out four and walking one. Florida Tech got on the board first in the top of the second, against Barry starter Jonathan Hernandez. Nick Capra led off with a walk and went to second on a wild pitch. He came home one out later on a Ryan Sinzenich sacrifice fly. Barry (16-20, 3-7 SSC) matched that run in the bottom of the inning, on an RBI double by Alexis Monge. The tie didn’t last long, as the Panthers took the lead for good in the top of the third. Neal walked, ...

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...

Reid Neal - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Reid Neal went 3-for-3 with a home run and knocked in three runs in Saturday, helping the Florida Tech Panthers beat the University of Mary, 8-7 in a neutral site game in Auburndale, Florida as part of the Russmatt Central Florida Invitational. Tyler Deel pitched five innings for the Panthers and picked up his third win of the season. Luke Lorah gave up a homer in the bottom of the ninth, but hung on for a three inning save. John Sternagel got the Panthers off to a great start, taking Marauders starter Nicholas Stobbe deep and out, over the left field wall. They added an unearned run later in the inning when Nick Capra singled and advanced on an error, allowing Daniel Szpik to score. Mary (2-4) answered in the bottom of the inning, with an RBI double from Drew Feuerbach RBI double and an RBI single off the bat of Chris Scott. With one inning in the books, it was 2-2.  Sternagel came through again in ...

Daniel Szpik - Credit: James Ragan Photography Florida Tech starter Andy Marzheuser gave up one hit in six innings on Friday and got plenty of offensive support, as the Panthers took down the Golden Rams of Albany State, 10-2 in Dahlonega, GA. Marzheuser (3-0) gave up two runs (one earned), walked five and struck out two, throwing 91 pitches. Jake Lane threw 34 pitches, earning a three inning save for the Panthers, who improved to 9-3 on the season. The Panthers jumped out in front in the top of the first, with Reid Neal doubling with one out, followed by a Grant McKown walk. They weren’t on base long, because Daniel Szpik took Albany State starter Lawrence Hyde deep, giving the Panthers an early 3-0 lead. FIT added a run in the second. Kevin Capella hit a two out double down the left field line and went to third on a wild pitch. John Sternagel doubled to bring him home. Albany State (0-9) answered in the bottom of the inning, when Ryan McClend walked an...

Nick Capra - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The first game of Sunday’s doubleheader was a forgettable one for Florida Tech, as they fell to Spring Hill, 19-6. After the Panthers pounded out 18 hits in their 13-1 win Saturday, the Badgers matched that number in game one on Sunday. The Panthers came back in game two with an impressive 7-0 victory, thanks in large part to the five scoreless innings thrown by Andy Marzheuser . Tyler Deel (2-1) allowed seven runs in the first two innings Sunday and faced one batter in the third before giving way to Grant Willcoxon who finished the third, but was yanked after facing four batters in the fourth. The Panthers used six pitchers in game one. Spring Hill scored two in the first, before putting five on the board in the second. Conner Harrison’s three run homer highlighted that second inning. Deel pitched two-plus innings allowing seven runs (six earned) on five hits, walked three and struck out five. He threw 70 pitche...

Nick Capra - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech baseball team dropped their second game of the season on Wednesday, as Flagler came up with 11 runs in last four innings, en route to a 14-5 victory. Florida Tech (6-2) got some early offense with two runs in the bottom of the first against Flagler starter Louis Pugliese. John Sternagel singled to lead off the inning and later scored on an error. Daniel Szpik grounded out, scoring Reid Neal , who singled earlier in the inning. That gave Florida Tech an early 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first. The lead was short-lived, as the Saints (7-1) came back with two more runs in the top of the second, courtesy of a Dylan Jones two-run double against Panthers starter Grant Willcoxon . That gave the visitors a 3-2 advantage. The Panthers tied things up in the bottom of the frame, thanks to a Nick Capra homer to lead things off. Zac Orchard then walked and stole second. He moved to third one out later, o...

Florida Tech baseball swept a doubleheader from Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, winning game two 9-3. The Panthers, who took game one earlier in the day by a score of 6-4, stroked 12 hits in game two and overcame four errors in the contest. These two wins, together with Friday’s win in the home opener gave the Panthers a series sweep of the Railsplitters. Andy Marzheuser got some early run support from his Panther teammates en route to his first win of the season. He pitched five innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs, striking out two and walking one. He was backed up by three relievers. Offensively, the Panthers were led by Grant McKown ’s 3-for-4 day. He knocked in a run and scored twice. Reid Neal and Kevin Capella had two hits each. Florida Tech (6-1) scored twice in the bottom of the first. John Sternagel started the inning with a double off Lincoln Memorial starter Matt Mullenbach (1-0). After Neal walked, the runners both moved up on a passed ...

After two come-from-behind victories on Friday against Mississippi College, the Florida Tech baseball team was back at it Saturday, taking one of two games and improving to 3-1 overall in 2017. The Panthers rolled to an 11-2 triumph in game one, keeping the Choctaws offense in check until the bottom of the ninth inning. Game two was won by the home team, 9-4. Florida Tech hurler Tyler Deel came out firing in game one, allowing four hits and striking out seven, in seven innings of work. Grant Willcoxon pitched the final two innings, giving up two hits and two runs, with only one being earned. It didn’t matter at that point, because the Panthers offense had already put the game away. James Gronberg started the scoring in the top of the fourth. He reached on a fielder’s choice, allowing Daniel Szpik , who singled earlier, to score. Gronberg later stole second and scored on a Nick Capra ground out, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Capra, who drove in the winning run in ...