Florida Tech baseball traveled to Kissimmee, Florida on Wednesday to take on Ohio Valley University in a neutral site contest. The Panthers used a four-run fourth inning to power past the Fighting Scots, 9-0. The loss ended an eight-game winning streak for OVU.
Jake Lane (1-1) was outstanding on the mound for the Panthers, throwing six innings of two-hit shutout baseball. He walked four and struck out four, throwing one wild pitch. Rhett Willis struck out two in his two innings of work and Andrew Beyer pitched the ninth inning, striking out one. Neither reliever allowed a hit.
Offensively, the Panthers pounded out 13 hits, with Ryan Sinzenich, Jacob Buser, and Jakob Newton getting two knocks each.
James Gronberg led off the game with a ground ball that was misplayed by Daniel Quinn at second base. He stole second and went to third on a Daniel Szpik groundout. A Sinzenich ground out was good enough to bring him home.
The fourth inning started with a Zac Orchard single and he stole second. After he was erased on a fielder’s choice by Raul Quintero, Kevin Capella sacrificed him to second. Newton followed with a single and went to second on another error, allowing Quintero to score the second run.
Rodnie Bernard‘s RBI double made it 3-0 and Gronberg chased him home with a double of his own. The final run of the inning came home on an RBI single by Daniel Szpik, giving the Panthers a 5-0 lead.
Buser hit his fifth home run of the season with one out in the fifth inning, extending the Panthers lead to 6-0. Another Ohio Valley error in the seventh allowed Szpik to score the seventh run and the Panthers would add two runs in the ninth.
Sinzenich walked and went to second on a Buser single. Peirson Reynolds walked to load the bases and pinch-hitter Bay McIntosh singled, earning his first hit and RBI of the season. That gave the Panthers an 8-0 lead. The final run came home on a Newton sac fly.
For more info: Florida Tech @ Ohio Valley Box Score
The Panthers (7-12) will host Spring Hill on Saturday in a doubleheader at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field. The first game is scheduled for noon. The series wraps up on Sunday with a noon game.