Sports Lowdown

Nick Capra - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers ended their 2017 regular season, splitting a doubleheader at Eckerd. After dropping the first game 11-8, in a slugfest, the Panthers used a three run fourth inning in game two, to secure a 4-2 victory. With the victory in game two, the Panthers finished the season 10 games over .500 and won four of their last five games. Game one featured five home runs and was a back-and-forth affair throughout, with Florida Tech starter Tyler Deel going just three innings and Eckerd starter Nick Alonzo, lasting just four. Neither figured in the final outcome. Florida Tech (30-20, 14-10 SSC) got a run in the top of the first. Grant McKown singled and moved to third on a failed pickoff attempt later in the inning. He came home on a single by Reid Neal . Deel started the bottom of the first by hitting leadoff man Tom Buonopane, but he picked him off moments later. It was one of two pickoffs Deel had in h...

Reid Neal - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers achieved season highs in runs and hits Monday night, as they scored a 21-5 victory over Nova Southeastern in the series finale. Every Florida Tech starter had a hit, with Ryan Sinzenich going 4-for-5 and Trent Masih going 4-for-6. Reid Neal and Nick Capra had three hits each and pinch-hitter Erik Molina hit his first home run of the season, a three-run dinger in the ninth inning, capping the scoring for the Panthers. This was an 8-5 game in the fourth inning, but the Panthers ran and hid late, scoring 12 runs in the final three innings and securing their 12 th Sunshine State Conference win of the season. Florida Tech starter Tyler Deel went five innings, picking up his fifth win of the season. The Panthers scored four runs in the top of the first, highlighted by a 2-run home run of the bat of Dan Szpik . Neal’s RBI single and an RBI triple from John Sternagel , produced the first...

Dan Szpik - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers fell just short in the series opener at Nova Southeastern on Sunday, as the Sharks hung on for a 7-6 win in game one of a doubleheader. The Panthers (27-18, 11-8 SSC) were victimized by tough luck throughout the game, loading the bases a couple times and not getting the big hit and having a triple play turned by their defense, only to have the call reversed in what turned out to be the deciding play of the game. Panthers starter Ty Cohen (6-5) ran into trouble in the first inning, giving up one run on a Jeremy Vasquez RBI single. Cohen did limit the damage, despite the traffic the Sharks generated. He came back in the bottom of the second and got the Sharks in order, striking out Ryan Alvarez on three pitches and needing a total of six pitches to get out of the inning. Sharks starter Matt Hardy ran into trouble of his own in the third, giving up back-to-back singles to Ryan Sinzenich a...