The Florida Tech Panthers continued their winning ways on the diamond Saturday, beating Bridgeport 15-1 at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field. The victory completes the series sweep and boosts the Panthers winning streak to seven games.
FIT (12-7) scored in all but one inning Saturday, amassing 21 hits as a team. James Gronberg went 3-for-4 with four runs scored, Dylan Owens was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, and Brett Parrish was 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
The hits kept coming, as Rodnie Bernard, Vincenzo Catanza, Jakob Newton, and Blaise Maris all had two hits apiece. One of those hits by Maris was his fifth home run of the season.
Preston Schumacher was on the mound for the Panthers and he got some runs to work with early. Bernard doubled down the line in left to start the game and Gronberg brought him home with a single. After Gronberg stole third, Owens singled him home, making it 2-0.
Bridgeport, who were blanked by the Panthers on Friday in both games of a doubleheader, scored their first run of the series in the third inning. Matt Rodriguez doubled off Schumacher with one out in the inning and he was chased home on Ryan Donnelly’s RBI single.
That was as close as the Purple Knights would get, as Owens doubled in the third and came home on a Parrish single, making it 3-1. They would score two more in the fourth, with Jacob Buser bringing home Gronberg with a double. Buser would later score on a wild pitch, making it 5-1.
Schumacher would get through the fourth, allowing one run on four hits. He struck out three and did not walk a batter, throwing 45 pitches (34 strikes). Jake Lane (1-2) would come in to start the fifth for the Panthers. He would pitch the next three innings, giving up one hit and striking out three. He threw 27 of his 35 pitches for strikes and earned the win in the process.
Meanwhile, the Panthers offense kept humming. Maris singled to start the fifth, and would later score on a wild pitch, upping the Panthers lead to 6-1. They would add three in the sixth, on an RBI single from Newton and a two-run single off the bat of Parrish. Just like that, it was 9-1.
Florida Tech was far from done, putting up five runs in the seventh inning, highlighted by an RBI single from Gabriel Ferrer and the two-run blast from Maris, making it a 14-1 ballgame.
The final run of the night came courtesy of a Pierson Reynolds RBI single in the eighth inning.
For more info: Bridgeport @ Florida Tech Box Score
The Panthers homestand continues this Tuesday, March 12th with a non-conference tilt against Winona State. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.