Knights Sweep Panthers in Conference Series
MELBOURNE, FL- The Florida Tech Panthers suffered their first series sweep of the season today, dropping two games to Sunshine State Conference rivals Lynn
University 6-5, and 11-2. The Panthers fall to 3-3 in the SSC, and 18-9 overall.
Tech took an early lead in game one of the doubleheader. Junior Jon Baksh (Mississauga, Canada) started things off for the Panthers in the top of the first
by singling to left field; he advanced to second on a passed ball, and took third on a wild pitch. After the next batter, senior Devin Hopkins (Pembroke
Pines, FL), was hit by a pitch junior Eamonn Powers (Staten Island, NY) smacked an RBI-single to left field, driving in Baksh from third.
The Fighting Knights answered back in the bottom of the inning when senior Jimmy Bacon (Coral Springs, FL) singled up the middle driving in senior Brandon
Mann (New York, NY) from second.
The Panthers broke the game open in the fourth, scoring four runs to take a 5-1 lead. Senior Anthony Mendillo (Rockledge, FL) led the inning with a base on
balls. Sophomore Nick Brennan (Detroit, MI) advanced Mendillo to second with a one-out single. The following batter, senior Bryan Stanton (Merritt Island,
FL), received the second walk of the inning, loading the bases for Jon Baksh. Baksh hit into an RBI-fielder’s choice which the defending shortstop
misplayed, allowing everyone to advance safely, scoring Mendillo from third. With the bases still loaded, the Tech clean-up batter Devin Hopkins drove a
single between the third baseman and shortstop, scoring one Panther while still leaving the bases juiced. After a Panther strikeout, sophomore Brendan
Twomey (Boca Raton, FL) hit a groundball to the shortstop, who committed his second error of the inning, and allowed Jon Baksh and Bryan Stanton both to
score.
The Fighting Knights slowly chipped away at the Panther’s four-run lead. They managed to put up one in the fifth and two in the sixth to pull within one
run. In the eighth Lynn tied the game on a freshman Jason TenEyck (Miramar, FL) homerun to right field. The home team took their first and only lead of the
game in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs and a man on second junior Nicolas Boisvert (Laval, Quebec) singled through the right side of the infield,
driving in the winning run for Lynn.
Junior Jay Crouse (Naples, FL) started the game for the Panthers. He went five innings and allowed six hits, four runs, and five walks while striking out
five. Sophomore Brett Backman (Whitby, Ontario) pitched three innings of relief for Tech, allowing three hits, one run and two walks while striking out
one. Sophomore Mike Campbell (Melbourne, FL) received the loss. He pitched 2/3 inning, allowing two hits and a run.
Lead-off man Nick Brennan went 3-5 for the Panthers at the plate, including a double and a run. Eamonn Powers also went 3-5 and drove in one RBI. Jon Baksh
went 1-4 with two RBIs.
Lynn took the lead early in game two, putting up seven runs in the first two innings before the Panthers scored their first run in the third inning. In the
top of the third Bryan Stanton reached first with a one-out single to right field. Jon Baksh followed Stanton with a single to center, advancing Stanton to
second. The next batter, Devin Hopkins, hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Jon Baksh on a throwing error by the Fighting Knights third baseman.
The Fighting Knights continued their offensive flurry, scoring another run in the third and two more in the fourth, giving them a 10-1 lead.
Tech scored their final run in the top of the sixth inning. Sophomore Brandon Veronee (Chester, VA) smacked a leadoff double to right-center field; he
advanced to third on a wild pitch by the Lynn hurler. Freshman Kevin Villa (Miami, FL) hit an infield groundball, scoring Veronee for the Panther’s second
and final run of the game.
Lynn scored one more run in the bottom of the inning, and blanked the Panthers in the top of the seventh to end the game, 11-2.
Brandon Veronee went 2-2 for Tech in the second game, with a double and a run scored. Jon Baksh went 2-3 with a run.
Tech falls to 18-9 overall, and 3-3 in the SSC. Conference rivals Lynn improve to 20-6, and 5-1 in the SSC. The Panthers host visiting Franklin-Pierce this
Wednesday at 3:00 pm. Their next conference match-up is next week when St. Leo comes to Melbourne for a three-game series.
