FIT softball team off to a fast start

The Florida Tech softball team is off to its best start since 2007, when it set the school record for wins.

The Panthers may not reach the 42-win mark this season, but are off to a 15-3 start as they enter Sunshine State Conference play this weekend.

Florida Tech has done it with a solid mix of pitching and hitting.

On the mound, the duo of Rachel Pence and Taylor Smith have combined for a 13-3 record.

Pence leads the conference with nine wins and has struck out 65 hitters in 12 games. Smith has also been in 10 games, starting six of them, and is among the conference leaders in ERA, with a 1.81 mark.

At the plate, Elaine Brown leads the team with a .474 average and five others are hitting over .300 after 18 games. The team has shown some power, hitting 11 home runs already. Last season, the Panthers hit seven all season.

Taylor Peterson has three home runs and 14 RBI, leading the team in both categories.

“We are playing great ball right now,” Florida Tech softball coach Val Silvestrini said. “The results are going our way but there is room for improvement. We are still working on things in practice. I think if we can keep getting better we will be very successful this season.”

The conference looks stacked once again this season as every team heads into the weekend with a winning record, led by unbeaten Rollins. Both Rollins and Tampa are ranked in the latest NFCA Division II softball poll.

Florida Tech will head to Tampa for a weekend series to open conference play.

“We are going to face one of the better teams in our conference,” said Silvestrini, who is in her fifth season and heads into this weekend with a 132-131 career record. “We always play really good games with Tampa and (are) looking forward to this weekend.”

Silvestrini isn’t the only one.

“The team is definitely ready for this,” Miller said of conference play. “We work really well together. We pick each other up and have each other’s back.”