Tech Comes Up Big for Senior Celebration, 14-6
MELBOURNE, FL- The Florida Tech Panthers celebrated their 2006 Senior Day with a blowout win against visiting Florida Gulf Coast, 14-6. Senior Mike Succio
Jr. (Melbourne, FL) pitched his final game before his home crowd and collected his career high ninth win of the season, going eight innings and allowing
four runs on 10 hits and one walk while striking out five Eagles.
Junior Jon Baksh (Mississauga, Canada) led the Panther offense, going 4-5 at the plate. He fell a triple short of the cycle, smacking a double in the first
and a three-run homer in the sixth inning. Baksh also managed to score three runs and drive in five RBIs.
Senior Dustin Dangalan (Port Orange, FL) went 3-5 with a double and triple. He also scored twice and drove in two runs. Senior Bryan Stanton (Merritt
Island, FL), junior Steve Condotta (Mississauga, Canada), and junior Eammon Powers (Staten Island, NY) each scored two runs in the game.
The Eagles took an early one-run lead in the second inning on a homerun to straight centerfield by junior Geoff Rottmayer (Clearwater, FL).
In the bottom of the third the Panthers mounted a hit parade, scoring six runs on seven hits while successfully batting through the order. Sophomore Nick
Brennan (Detroit, MI) managed to get to hits in the inning, a single and a double. The Panthers managed to smack three singles in a row after Nick Brennan
singled to start the inning and Bryan Stanton walked, scoring four runs. Dustin Dangalan drove in the fifth run of the inning on a triple to right field.
He later scored on a single up the middle by senior Chris Pond (Cary, NC).
Florida Gulf Coast scored another run in the fourth inning on a single down the leftfield line by Geoff Rottmayer. Tech held the visitors scoreless for the
next three innings.
The Panthers scored another run in the fifth inning to extend their lead to five runs. In the sixth the put together another multi-run inning, scoring
three runs. The first two batters, Bryan Stanton and Steve Condotta, received free passes to put runners on first and second for the hot hitting Jon Baksh.
Baksh delivered for his team, smacking a homerun over the right centerfield wall.
Tech scored their final four runs in the eighth. The Panthers started the inning with two consecutive singles by Dustin Dangalan and Chris Pond. The next
batter, junior Mike Messana (Pinehurst, NC), smacked an RBI single to centerfield; he was later picked off for the first out of the inning. The Eagles
struck out the next Panthers, leaving a man on second with two outs for Steve Condotta. Condotta drove an RBI double down the leftfield line, scoring Pond
from second. Jon Baksh followed Condotta with a single up the middle, scoring Steve from second. Baksh eventually scored on a double by senior Devin
Hopkins (Pembroke Pines, FL).
The Eagles scored two more in the eighth and two in the ninth but could not come back to defeat the home team. Tech recorded the final out of the game when
freshman reliever Jake Koch (Orlando, FL) struck out Geoff Griffin to seal the 14-6 win.
Tech improves to 27-22 this season, while the Eagles fall to 34-12. Tech will finish the three-game series against Florida Gulf Coast tomorrow, playing a
double-header starting at noon. After the Eagles Tech only has one more series to play on the season, a three-game conference series against hosting Tampa.
