Sports Lowdown

The Florida Tech Panthers moved to 4-0 for the first time in school history, beating Division I FCS opponent Presbyterian on Saturday, 28-7. As Florida Tech play-by-play man Jerry Durney noted, it is equivalent to a boxer stepping up a weight class. Sometimes the move up produces an upset and that was the case in this game, at least to those not associated with the Florida Tech football program. The Panthers defense came into the game with shut outs in their last two games and for two and a half quarters, they were able to keep the Blue Hoes at bay. Coupled with the passing of Mark Cato and the play of their wide receivers, the Panthers controlled this game from the outset. After the defense forced a three and out on the Blue Hose opening possession, Panthers coach Steve Englehart had defensive lineman Tevin Kirkland lined up as a wide receiver. Cato was able to find him down the field on the first offensive play, covering 36 yards and getting the Panthers to midfiel...

For the second consecutive week, Florida Tech Football team pitched a shutout, beating the Shorter Hawks 40-0 in Rome Georgia., as they improved to 3-0 to start the 2016 season.  It was a record setting night for the Crimson and Gray, as they won their second consecutive Gulf South Conference game and are now 2-0 in the GSC for the first time in program history. It was also the first shutout on the road in school history. The Panthers defense smothered the Hawks all night and with the shutout on Saturday, they have not allowed points in the last 10 quarters of football. With the 41-0 victory last week over Mississippi College, the Panthers have won their last two games by a combined score of 81-0 and have scored 40 points or more in all three games this season. It didn’t take long for the Panthers to start rolling, as they came out with a bit of a trick play on the first play of the game. Head coach Steve Englehart had both of his quarterbacks in the backfield, wit...

Manatees Say Goodbye to Brevard County The final Brevard County Manatees game in franchise history was played Sunday in front of 1,573 fans at Space Coast Stadium in Viera. The game did not end the way the home crowd hoped, with the Manatees falling 6-4 to Daytona. “The fans were awesome and they showed their support all season long,” said Brevard County skipper Joe Ayrault. “No matter what our record was, they came out and supported our boys, they were great.” Daytona (40-28, 76-61) pounded out 15 hits on this night and got started right away, getting on the board in the top of the first, against Manatees starter Bubba Derby.  Blake Trahan  and Shed Long had back-to-back singles to start and  Gavin LaValley  kicked off his big night with a two-run double. Derby (6-13) got out of further trouble in the second inning, despite giving up two more hits. He was able to pick-off Shed Long, keeping Daytona off the board.  Unfortunately, Derby wa...

Devin Williams The Brevard County Manatees got their last home series of the season off on the right foot, snapping a seven-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Daytona Tortugas on Friday. Starting pitcher Devin Williams was impressive for Brevard County, throwing 5.2 innings and picking up his first Advanced-A win. “He’s got good stuff and the way he carries himself, really showed me something,” said Manatees manager Joe Ayrault.  “He’s very confident.” The one inning that Williams ran into trouble was the second. He hit Aristides Aquino and then gave up back-to-back singles to Juan Duran and Reydel Medina, loading the bases. He then proceeded to walk Blake Butler, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead. He bounced back to get Chad Tromp to ground into a run-scoring double play and the final run came home on an error by Mitch Ghelfi at first base, giving Daytona a three-spot. The Manatees (16-51, 39-96) did all their scoring in the bottom of the third, against Da...

Trey York's first Advanced-A hit The Clearwater Threshers helped bolster their playoff position, picking up a doubleheader sweep of the Manatees on Tuesday, ending a marathon night of baseball. The Threshers won game one, 2-1 and completed the sweep with a 3-2 win in game two. Following the suspension of Monday night’s game, in the bottom of the second, the two teams were scheduled to resume play at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday. That didn’t happen, the teams sat through another 2 hour, 50-minute rain delay, before finally being able to pick up the first game, in the bottom of the second inning. Phil Bickford started the first game Monday, getting the first two Threshers out before walking the bases loaded. Jiandido Tromp bailed him out with a foul out to third. The Threshers were able to get on the board, just prior to the suspension Monday, thanks to a single by Carlos Tocci. That was the third single of the inning and gave the Threshers a 1-0 lead. The rain came at that p...

Corey Ray HR Swing Milwaukee Brewers 2016 first round draft pick Corey Ray hit his first home run as a pro on Thursday, exactly one month after making his professional baseball debut with the Brevard County Manatees. Ray said after that game, that he knew the expectations were high for him, but he was not worried about it. “Everything will take care of itself. Whatever happens, happens,” he said. Well, on Thursday, his first round-tripper happened and it ended up being the decisive run in a 4-3 Manatees victory over Daytona, at Space Coast Stadium. “I knew I got it good, but at Space Coast you never really know,” Ray said after the game. “Fastball right down the middle and just put a good swing on it.” The home run came in the eighth inning against Tortugas reliever Brennan Bernardino and was measured at 404-feet. Ray led off the bottom of the first with a double and drew a walk in the sixth, before hitting the home run. He was the only Manatee to reach base, before the team...