The Florida Tech softball team had two come-from-behind victories on Thursday, beating Tiffin 11-3 in game one and 6-3 in game two. This follows two wins over Wilmington on Tuesday, and the Panthers have now won five straight games.
Alex Hendrian earned the save in game one, pitching the final 2/3rds of an inning. She came back in game two pitching six innings in relief including a stretch that saw her retire 12 in a row. She also had the big hit in the fifth inning of game two, a two-run double that put the Panthers ahead 5-3.
Florida Tech got on the board first in game one against Tiffin starter Claire Feldkamp. Cheyenne Nelson reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second before a single from Chloe French got her to third. The pair would then team up on a double steal, with Nelson scoring before French was tagged out at second. That put the Panthers up 1-0.
Panthers starter Samantha Guider would allow two hits in the first four innings and got some defensive help in that fourth when left fielder Whitney Ellis made a nice running catch tracking down a ball with a runner on.
Tiffin would breakthrough in the top of the fifth as they loaded the bases against Guider and Maddie Woods single would knock in two, putting the Dragons up 2-1. Allison Platon would come in in relief of Guider with the bases loaded and get the final out of the inning.
Guider allowed five hits in 4.2 innings. She allowed two runs, walked two, and struck out one throwing 54 of her 88 pitches for strikes.
The lead didn’t last long with the Panthers scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth. French reached on a fielder’s choice and Mikayla Lewin singled, bringing the always dangerous Jolie Miracle to the plate. She promptly doubled in two to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead. An error gave the home team another run and a single by Ellis with the bases loaded, putting them up 5-2.
Hendrian relieved Platon with two on in the top of the sixth and a sacrifice fly by Kirsten Georges later in the inning made it 5-3.
Platon (1-0) went 2/3rds of an inning allowing one hit, a run, and walking two. She threw 17 pitches (8 strikes).
Nelson singled and stole second to start the bottom of the sixth for the Panthers. Lewin singled and went to second on the throw, While Nelson made it safely to third. Miracle followed with a two-run double to make it 7-3. An error got Miracle to third and she scored on a Tori Szrom RBI double to make it 8-3.
After another reliever entered for Tiffin, pinch hitter Mya Ogbodiewgu drew a walk to load the bases with Panthers. After an out was recorded, Wessel, Nelson, and French drew consecutive bases-loaded walks and the Panthers would win game one by the run rule. Hendrian earned her third save of the season.
For more info: Tiffin @ Florida Tech Box Score (Game 1)
Florida Tech had 12 hits in game one, with Nelson, Lewin, Miracle, and Szrom each getting two. Miracle finished with four RBIs.
Tiffin (6-9) took the lead early in game two, scoring twice in the top of the first against Panthers starter Kelsie Rivers. Maddie Legg led off the top of the second with a home run to put the Dragons up 3-0 and that was the end of the day for Rivers. She faced six batters in all, before being relieved by Hendrian.
Hendrian recorded the next three outs after the home run and went on to retire 12 in a row, picking up four strikeouts in the process. Florida Tech would get on the board in the bottom of the third. Wessel walked and went to third on an error before scoring on a wild pitch to make it 3-1.
The game turned in the fifth inning when the Panthers scored four times. Nelson French and Miracle all walked to load the bases with one out. Szrom reached on an error one out later and that allowed two runs to cross the plate, tying the game 3-3. That brought Hendrian to the plate and she got a hold of one that fell just out of the reach of the diving outfielder, scoring Miracle and Szrom and putting Florida Tech in front 5-3.
The final run came in the bottom of the sixth when Lewin singled home Nelson, making it 6-3. The Dragons would bring the tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh, but Hendrian induced a ground ball to end the game.
For more info: Tiffin @ Florida Tech Box Score (Game 2)
Hendrian threw just six pitches in game one and backed that up with 98 in game two. The Panthers’ offense managed just six hits in the second game but scored four runs on one hit in that decisive fifth frame.
Florida Tech (15-7) will take their win streak on the road to St. Petersburg to start a three-game series against Eckerd tomorrow night. Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.