The Florida Tech Panthers scored a big Sunshine State Conference win on Sunday, beating the Barry Buccaneers 15-12 at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field. They got game one in before the rains came and pushed the final game of the series back to Monday.
Brett Parrish was the hero at the plate in this one, coming up a single short of the cycle. He was 4-for-4 with six RBI’s including a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth. He walked in the first inning, doubled in the third and doubled again in the sixth.
Vinny Catanza went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and Raul Quintero was 3-for-5, with three RBIs. The Panthers, as a team had 18 hits.
Andy Marzheuser started for the Panthers but gave up five runs on seven hits. He ended his day with a no-decision. Ryan Allain was the last of five Panthers hurlers used in this game.
The Panthers (26-18, 14-11 SSC) got the scoring started in the first against Bucs’ starter Frank Gonzalez II. Jacob Buser had a two-out single and came home on a double by Blaise Maris. Maris would later score on a single off the bat of Quintero. They would add another run in the second when Catanza scored on a single from James Gronberg.
Barry (29-17, 15-13 SSC) got a run back in the third and got to Marzheuser again in the fourth. Ariel Diaz had an RBI single, making it 3-2 and he came home on a double by Arrison Perez, tying the game. The Buccaneers took the lead later in the frame on an RBI single by Freddie Matos, bringing Marzheuser’s day to an end. Justin Barney came in and gave up a run-scoring sac fly to Justin Lamazares, making it 5-3.
Catanza got the Panthers started in the bottom of the inning with a double over the head of Diaz in right field, as he misjudged it. The error allowed Catanza to go to third. A sac fly by Pedro Rivera made it 5-4. A single by Gronberg and walks to Buser and Maris loaded the bases, bringing Parrish to the plate.
After hitting a ball up the first base line that would have resulted in the third out, Parrish instead got a reprieve when the ball was called foul. On the very next pitch, he would take Gonzalez deep over the wall and into the Hartley Hall parking lot for a grand slam, giving his team an 8-5 lead. It also brought Gonzelez’s day to an end, and Amilcar Yanez would get the final out.
A wild pitch by Barney in the sixth inning allowed Matos to score and close the gap to 8-6, but the Panthers would answer again in the bottom of the frame. Parrish would knock in two with a double, and an RBI single by Quintero made it 11-6.
Barney (2-1) was done after his half of the sixth, going 2.2 innings, allowing three hits and one run. He did not walk a batter and struck out three, throwing 40 pitches (28 strikes).
Jake Lane would start the seventh for the Panthers, and he struggled mightily, allowing four runs. The big blow was an Andrew Rapoza two-run single. Jordan Murray relieved him and allowed an RBI groundout to Matos, making it 11-10. The run was charged to Lane, who got credit for 1/3 of an inning, facing six batters.
Florida Tech would answer with four in the bottom of the eighth, with a two-out rally. Parrish tripled and came home on an RBI single by Quintero, his third of the day. Quintero would score on an RBI double by Dylan Owens, making it 13-10. Two batters later, Pedro Rivera would come through with a two-run single, giving the Panthers a 15-10 cushion.
Allain started the ninth and walked three batters while recording just one out. A fielder’s choice by Lamazares made it 15-11, before Reuben Pino came through with an RBI single, cutting the lead to 15-12. A groundout by Richie Sobalvarro ended the game and gave Allain the record.
For more info: Barry @ Florida Tech Box Score
The postponement of game two was the second time this weekend that this series was affected by rain. Saturday night’s series opener was called and will likely not be made up. The two teams conclude the series on Monday night, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m.