Sports Lowdown

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 Panthers lacrosse team put up a great effort against the ninth ranked Adelphi Panthers on Thursday, losing 10-8 in a tightly contested game. Florida Tech goaltender Daniel Flock stood tall, against a highly skilled Adelphi squad, coming up with nine saves. The Panthers of Florida Tech scored six unanswered goals at one point, turning a 5-2 deficit into an 8-5 lead, but Adelphi scored five straight from about the halfway point of the fourth, to the end of the game and escaped with a victory. Florida Tech (1-1) did a lot of things right on Thursday statistically, winning in shots 37-29 and ground balls 37-31. They were 2-for-5 on the man-up, while AU was 1-for-3 and FIT was successful on 19 of their 20 clear attempts. Unfortunately, they did not win on the scoreboard and that’s the only number that counts. Adelphi (1-0) was led by Nick Racalbuto, who had four goals and Michael Osmundsen who had three, to go along with one assist. The other Racalbuto in ...

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...

Sam Daniel - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography  The Florida Tech Panthers had six players in double figures Wednesday, storming back from a 42-36 halftime deficit to take down the Lynn Fighting Knights, 97-89 at the Clemente Center. “This was like a playoff game,” said Panthers head coach Billy Mims. “If we wanna play beyond next week, we needed this win.” Sam Daniel led the charge for the Panthers, scoring 27 points. Rafael Casanova scored 20, Derek Murphy 17, Jordan Majors 13 and Robert Booth rounded out the scoring with 11. Michael Milligan started and played eight minutes, but he did not score. Things looked bleak for the Panthers as the game got underway. The Fighting Knights went on a 10-0 run to start and the Panthers were missing both their inside and outside shots, getting nothing to fall. “I think we spotted them the first six minutes and 10 points,” said Mims, who was issued a warning during that early stretch, for jawing at the offici...

Julie McCarthy - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Julie McCarthy hit the game-winning layup with 11 seconds left in overtime Wednesday night, helping the Florida Tech women get a much-needed Sunshine State Conference win over the Lynn Fighting Knights, 71-70. “I thought she was dominant tonight,” said head coach John Reynolds of McCarthy. “They didn’t have an answer for her.” McCarthy’s final points put the exclamation point on her big night. She recorded a double-double, with 28 points and 15 rebounds. She was also credited with two blocks and two steals. Things did not start well for the Panthers, who were down 22-15 after the first quarter and watched Lynn start the second stanza with a 7-0 run. The Panthers were able to stay afloat though, as Lynn scored just three points in the last five minutes of the second stanza. Despite the Fighting Knights struggles, the Panthers couldn’t make up much ground, scoring their first points with 2:48 to go in th...