Sports Lowdown

Vanessa Rubio - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers used two big innings to make quick work of the Eckerd Tritons on Friday in game one of a Senior Day doubleheader. Makayla Palmer went 3-for-4 at the dish, Vanessa Rubio hit two homers and Krista Patterson added one of her own in a 13-3 win over Eckerd at Nancy Bottge Field on Friday afternoon. The Panthers jumped on Eckerd starter Grace Willeck for six runs in the bottom of the second inning. Palmer led off with a single and came home on Patterson’s two-run shot to center. Rubio went back-to-back, hitting her first of the day and giving the home team a 3-0 lead. Willeck continued to struggle, walking Kaitlin Buchholz , hitting Karina Suicava with a pitch and giving up a single to Hailey Leonard . Willick was able to get Sarah Hayes on strikes, before giving way to Madison Saltzman with one out in the inning. The pitching change didn’t do much good, as Alexus Smith drilled a double to th...

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...

After a back-and-forth affair between Barry and Florida Tech in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader, the teams put on one heck of an encore, with Florida Tech pulling out a 14-13 victory at Nancy Bottge Field and earning a much-needed split. “That’s something I’m really proud of, these kids keep battling and never quit,” said Panthers coach Val Silvestrini after the game. “We had to come back in several situations.” A single by Hailey Leonard in the bottom of the seventh, drove in the 27 th run of the game and capped off over four hours of baseball between the two games.  The victory meant the Panthers avoided a sweep and more importantly, gave them their first conference win of the season. Things did not start well for Florida Tech, as Barry got an unearned run against starter Amanda Kahn , when shortstop Krista Patterson dropped a ball that would’ve ended the inning. After a fielder’s choice kept the inning going, Kahn got Avery Cotterill, swinging to end the ...

Florida Tech took their road show to Rome, GA on Wednesday, for a doubleheader against the Shorter Hawks. The 12-game road trip did not end well for the Panthers, who lost game one 6-5 and game two, 7-0. Things got off to a rough start for the Panthers in game one, as Shorter scored four unearned runs against starter Amanda Kahn (3-4) in the bottom of the first. The Hawks took advantage of two errors in the frame. Tiffany Holland singled to start the game and Maddie Hunt reached on an error. Ericka Bynum, who had a heck of a day at the plate, singled and Holland held at third, but scored on another error. Peyton Barthel’s RBI ground out made it 2-0 and an RBI single by Taylor Martin made it 3-0. The Hawks capped the inning with an RBI double off the bat of Hailey Baswell. That was the end of the day for Kahn, who was lifted after two-thirds of an inning. She allowed five hits, but no earned runs, facing just eight batters. McKenzie Krutsinger came on to record the ...

The Embry-Riddle Eagles swept a doubleheader from Florida Tech on Saturday, with a 4-3 game one win and a 6-1 win in game two. It was the third straight win for the Eagles, who beat Florida Tech in the series opener on Friday. With the Eagles being a provisional member of the Sunshine State Conference, the victories count in the overall standings, but they do not count against Florida Tech as conference losses., That may be the only silver lining the Panthers can take away from the weekend. Errors hurt the Panthers in Friday’s game and they committed three more in game one on Saturday. Two of those led to Embry-Riddle scoring twice against Panthers starter Rachel Pence in the top of the first. Anna Battison singled and went to second on a throwing error. After a walk, Maggie Scott reached on a fielder’s choice, bringing Kendall Funk to the plate. She lifted a fly ball to left that resulted in an error and allowed both runs to score. Florida Tech put together a tw...

Following a loss on Friday in game one of the series, the Florida Tech softball team looked for revenge Saturday in a doubleheader against the Tampa Spartans. Unfortunately, the home team had other ideas, as they swept the Panthers 3-2 and 6-1. Game one took nine innings to decide a winner, with Tampa scoring in the bottom of the frame, thanks to a Shelby Press RBI single. Florida Tech (10-8, 0-3 SSC) struck first in game one against Tampa starter Corynn Miner. Vanessa Rubio reached on a fielder’s choice and came home on a Hailey Leonard double. After Makayla Palmer walked, Rachel Kraak singled home Leonard, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead. Audrey Gangloff walked, loading the bases, but Kaitlin Buchholz flied out to end the inning. Rachel Pence got the start for Florida Tech and like Miner, ran into early trouble. Taylor Farrell singled with one out and was chased home on a triple by Bre Setree. A sac fly by Makaleigh Dooley, tied things up at two. It was a p...

Pitching was the name of the game Friday night, as the Tampa Spartans beat Florida Tech 2-0 in the Sunshine State Conference softball opener for the Panthers. Rachel Pence (7-4) allowed four hits and two runs (one earned) in six innings of work. She struck out one and walked one. On most nights that would be good enough for a victory, but on this night, she was outdueled by Makaleigh Dooley, who went the distance for the home team, allowing just one hit to the Panthers. The Panthers did get a runner on in the top of the first when Vanessa Rubio reached on an error, but she was stranded. Tampa got on the board in the bottom of the second when Corynn Miner doubled with one out and came home one batter later, on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Maddie Farrell. Florida Tech (10-6, 0-1) threatened in the top of the fourth, starting the inning with a Krista Patterson single, Rubio hit into a fielder’s choice and moved to second on Makayla Palmer ’s walk. Rachel Kraak then ...

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 ...

Florida Tech finished the NFCA Division II Leadoff Classic Sunday afternoon, taking down Georgia College, by the score of 6-5. The Panthers finished the tournament with a record of 4-1, with their only loss coming to Texas A&M-Commerce on Sunday morning. Florida Tech pounded out 13 hits, led by Hailey Leonard 's 3-for-4 day. Alexus Smith (home run), Vanessa Rubio and Karina Suicava all had multi-hit days. The Panthers carried a 6-4 lead into the seventh inning, but the Bobcats mounted a two-out rally, against Florida Tech starter Rachel Pence , scoring twice before Faith Flanders to flied out with the tying run at second, to end the game. Georgia College got to Pence in the top of the third. Amber Coy singled driving in two runs and Flanders had an RBI single, giving her team a 3-0 lead. Florida Tech (7-3) closed the gap in the bottom of the inning, getting to Georgia College starter Kayla Price, for two runs. Smith started the inning with a double. Afte...

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...

The Florida Tech Panthers got their second win of the day on Saturday, a 3-2 victory over Central Missouri. Rachel Pence, who got the win in game one against Wayne State, picked up her first save of the season in game two. McKenzie Krutsinger , who hasn’t pitched since opening day , got the start in game two, giving up one run on two hits in 2.2 innings of work. She struck out one and did not walk a batter and improved her record to 1-1 in the process. Florida Tech got on the board first in the top of the first, against Central Missouri starter Alexa Bradley. With two outs, Hailey Leonard was hit by a pitch and immediately stole second. Vanessa Rubio then reached on an error. The miscue brought Leonard home. Makayla Palmer followed with a single, chasing Rubio home and giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Central Missouri got in the board in the bottom of the second, thanks to a double by Katie Giacone but the Panthers answered with a run in the top of the third. Leonar...

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 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...

Brandy Marlett threw the third no-hitter of her career Friday, propelling the Angelo State Rambelles to a 12-0 win over Florida Tech in the opening game of the Florida Tech Marriott First Pitch Classic. Marlett (1-0) faced 26 Florida Tech batters, had nine strikeouts and walked three. She got plenty of offensive help, as the Rambelles hit three home runs as a team, two of those in the first inning. The visitors jumped on Panthers’ starting pitcher McKenzie Krutsinger early. Bailey Wallace singled with one out and came home on a round-tripper off the bat of Kenedy Urbany, giving the Rams a 2-0 lead. One out later, Courtney Barnhill drew a walk and trotted home on Taegan Kirk’s home run. Just like that, the Rams doubled their lead to 4-0. The Rambelles added two more runs in the top of the third inning. Krutsinger gave up a walk and two singles, prompting Florida Tech head coach Val Silvestrini to call on Amanda Kahn in relief. Kahn did allow two inherited runners to...