Florida Tech opened a three-game series against Bentley on Friday night, beating the Falcons 16-5 at Andy-Seminick-Les Hall Field. It is the fourth straight win for Florida Tech.

It was a tough night for Panthers starter Boris Villa, who pitched just 2.2 innings. He would get a no-decision thanks to the offensive explosion by his teammates.

Florida Tech (4-1) pounded out 15 hits, led by leadoff hitter Jakob Newton, who went 3-for-6 with two RBIs. Paul Castillo, Brett Parrish, Alec Eldridge, Sam Schner, and Jack Nagy all had two hits. Dylan Owens had just one hit but drove in three runs.

Bentley led this one early, scoring twice in the first inning on RBI singles from Liam Sears and Charlie Auditore. Florida Tech got one back in the bottom of the frame when Castillo doubled and scored on a Parrish single.

A wild pitch by Villa led to a run for the Falcons in the second, giving the visitors a 3-1 lead. A single and a walk in the Bentley third led to an early exit for Villa, as he allowed three runs on four hits. He walked three and struck out five. He threw 70 pitches, 36 for strikes. The first inning saw him throw 30-plus pitches.

Freshman Zach Rodgers (1-0) followed Villa and threw the next 2.1 innings. He allowed just one hit while walking one and striking out two. He earned the first win of his career, throwing 44 pitches (29 strikes).

The Panthers took the lead for good in the bottom of the third, scoring four times. Nagy was hit by a pitch and Newton singled and stole second. Nagy scored on a wild pitch, making it 3-2. A Castillo double made it 4-2 and a passed ball led to another run. Owens single gave the home team a 5-2 lead.

They would strike for four again in the fourth, highlighted by an error off an Owens grounder that led to two runs.

Another passed ball gave the Panthers a run in the fifth and a 10-3 lead. Bentley got one back in the seventh, making it 10-4, but the Panthers weren’t done, scoring twice more in the bottom of the frame.

A groundout by Schner and a wild pitch with Hayden Kimball at the plate made it 12-3 Panthers.  They followed that up with their third four-run inning of the game in the bottom of the eighth.

Schner singled home a run and Nagy doubled home two, and Newton tripled home Nagy, just missing a home run.

For more info: Bentley @ Florida Tech Box Score

The series continues Saturday at noon.