It was an opening weekend the Florida Tech baseball team is glad to have in the rear-view mirror. The North Georgia Nighthawks beat the Panthers 9-1 on Sunday, in the final game of the season-opening weekend series at Andy Seminick Les-Hall Field. 

The Nighthawks came up with 15 hits in this game, led by Crews Taylor (3-for-6, 2 RBIs), and Bill Leroy (3-for-4, 2 RBIs). Four other North Georgia players had two hits apiece. 

Freshman Preston Schumacher was making his first start for the Panthers and the Nighthawks got to him early. Leroy had a two-run single in the first inning and things went dowenhill from there, as Schumacher allowed three more in the second. 

Taylor had a two-run single, and Leroy reached on a fielder’s choice, allowing Taylor to score the fifth run. 

Schumacher would finish the inning and start the third, but he was yanked after the first two got on. Freshman Justin Lorenz took over and the struggles continued when Nick Clarno doubled to make it 6-0 and Joshua Profit’s sacrifice fly made it 7-0. That would close the book on Schumacher. 

He pitched two-plus innings, allowing eight hits and seven runs. He walked two and struck out one, throwing 48 pitches. 

Lorenz would settle down, throwing three more innings, giving him four for the game. He gave up four hits, struck out two and didn’t walk a batter. 

Senior Sam Crocker came in for an inning of work in the seventh. He walked a batter and hit a batter, but got out of the frame. 

Freshman Luis Moriyon pitched the eighth, allowing a double and striking out one. He started the ninth, giving up two runs. Profit got a run home on a fielder’s choice and Jake Howard got the ninth run home on a sac fly. 

After allowing a triple, Moriyon gave way to sophomore Tristan Adams, who got the final out. 

Florida Tech (0-3) avoided the shutout, thanks to a one-out home run by Blaise Maris in the bottom of the ninth. The Panthers then had two consecutive batters hit by a pitch, but they were unable to push anything else across. 

Maris finished the day 3-for-4 and led the Panthers eight-hit attack. Raul Quintero and Alec Eldridge each had two hits. 

For more info: North Georgia @ Florida Tech Box Score 

The Panthers homestand will continue on Friday, when they host Wingate at 2:00 p.m.