MELBOURNE, Fla. – The
Spring Hill College baseball team dropped a pair of games to Florida Tech to close out its first series of the season. In game one, the Badgers fell 10-9, while falling 11-9 in game two this afternoon.
The Badgers are now 0-3 on the season, while the Panthers move to 3-0.
Spring Hill will open the home season on Tuesday, Feb. 3, when it hosts the University of Montevallo at 2 p.m.
GAME 1: SPRING HILL 9, FLORIDA TECH 10
The Badgers took an early 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fourth, before the Panthers tied the game at three in their half of the fourth. Florida Tech took its first lead of the game on an error by the first baseman in the bottom of the fifth to go up 4-3.
With one out in the top of the sixth,
Alex Roux walked and later moved to third when
Gavin Moran threw the right side. Roux scored to tie the game at four when
Robby Lopez singled and then advanced to second on an error by the first baseman. Moran took third on the play. The Badgers retook the lead when
Jatnier Torres' RBI double plated Moran to make it 5-4 and send Lopex to third. Lopez then scored on a passed ball to make it 6-4 before the inning ended.
Spring Hill added two more runs in the top of the seventh to push its lead to 8-4, but Florida Tech got one of the two runs back in its half of the inning.
The Badgers plated a run in the eighth when
Jaylen Jones singled up the middle to score Torres to make it 9-5.
Florida Tech, down to its final six outs, came from behind to score five runs on three hits in the bottom of the eighth to take a 10-5 lead and then let the bullpen close the game out in the ninth to secure the victory.
As a team, Spring Hill tallied 12 hits with two of them being doubles, while tallying five walks.
Torres, Lopez, and Roux each finished with two hits each. Torres' two hits were both doubles. The three combined going 6-for-11, five runs scored, three doubles, and two walks.
Spring Hill starter
Wyatt Brown scattered four hits over four innings of working, allowing three runs (two earned), and fanning eight.
Reliever
Garrett Lott took the loss (0-1), allowing six runs on three hits in an inning and a third.
GAME 2: SPRING HILL 9, FLORIDA TECH 11
Trailing 2-0 going into the top of the third, Spring Hill pushed three runs across on three hits, all with two outs. It started when
Angel Rivera doubled and later came around to score off of
Reggie Cooper's RBI double. Roux drove Cooper in when he parked a two-run home run to give the Badgers a 3-2 lead before the inning ended.
Florida Tech tied the game in its half to the third and then pushed six runs across in the bottom of the fourth to take a 9-3 lead.
The Badgers cut the lead to 9-5 when Torres then scored off of Cooper's second RBI double of the game. He then scored when Roux tallied a double of his own for his second extra-base hit of the contest.
The Panthers added a run in the fifth and the seventh to push their lead to 11-5. Spring Hill added a run in the eighth to trail 11-6.
Down to their final three outs, the Badgers started the bottom of the ninth off when
Walter Guillot walked. He then moved to third on an error by the third baseman, which allowed Juez to reach second. Cooper popped out to first, which scored Guillot to make it 11-7 and sent Juez to third. Juez scored off of Roux's RBI single to cut the lead to three. Roux moved up 90 feet when
Jordan Black walked.
Evan Kirk's RBI single to right field scored Roux to make it 11-9 and sent Black to third. The Spring Hill threat ended on back-to-back outs.
Spring Hill tallied five extra-base hits (four doubles and a home run) out of its 11 hits total for the game.
Roux led all Badgers with three hits (3-for-5) for the game. He tallied a double, four RBIs, and two runs scored.
Cooper finished the game going 2-for-5 with two doubles, two runs scored, and three RBIs.
Benoit, Kirk,
Gavin Moran,
Dee Brandon, and Torres each finished with a hit.
Reliever
Tommy Van Daff took the loss (0-1). He threw an inning and two-thirds, allowing three runs on four hits, while striking out two.
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ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors nine men's and seven women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.