MELBOURNE, Fla. – The University of Sioux Falls baseball team dropped both ends of a Saturday doubleheader at Florida Tech, falling 7-5 in the opener before suffering a 6-1 setback in the nightcap at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field. Despite a pair of late pushes at the plate, the Cougars were forced to play from behind throughout the day as Florida Tech capitalized on early momentum and held off multiple USF rallies.

Sioux Falls showed resilience offensively, collecting 17 hits across the two games and trimming deficits in both contests, but the Panthers delivered the bigger early innings and enough bullpen work to close each game out. Casey Sehr and Dominic Vogel helped pace the attack in game one, while the Cougars got scoreless relief from Carter Sehr and Tyler Maeyaert over the course of the doubleheader. With the losses, USF moved to 4-9 on the season, while Florida Tech improved to 11-7.

Final Score(s):

• Florida Tech 7, Sioux Falls 5
• Florida Tech 6, Sioux Falls 1

Game One – How It Happened

Florida Tech broke through in the second inning and did most of its damage in one swing-filled stretch. After getting two runners into scoring position with traffic early, the Panthers got an RBI groundout, an RBI single from Adrian Dominguez, and a two-run homer from Brian Perez to seize a 4-0 lead.

The Cougars answered in the third. Mitch Iliff was hit by a pitch and William Edwards followed with a single to put runners at the corners. Caden Ransom brought in the first run on a ground-ball double play, and Sioux Falls kept the inning alive with hits from Dominic Vogel and Justin Johnson before Daniel Estrada drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-2.

Florida Tech added an unearned run in the third, then stretched the lead again in the fifth. A triple by Dominguez and a sacrifice fly by Perez pushed the Panthers ahead 7-2.

USF refused to go away. In the seventh, Nolan Drossel opened things with a bunt single, Iliff walked, and Ransom delivered an RBI single to right. Vogel followed with another RBI knock up the middle to cut the deficit to 7-4.

The Cougars made one final push in the ninth. Carson Jager singled, Vogel walked, and Casey Sehr delivered an RBI single to bring USF within 7-5. But Florida Tech turned to Blake Holshouser for the final out to seal the win.

Game One – On the Mound

• Starting pitcher: Brady Baur – 1.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K

• Decision: Loss – Baur (2-1)

• Bullpen impact: Eli Larson settled the middle innings with 3.1 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, while Carter Sehr was excellent in relief with 3.0 scoreless innings and four strikeouts.

• Notable pitching moments: Carter Sehr kept the Cougars within striking distance late, giving USF a chance to rally over the final three innings.

Game One – At the Plate

• Multi-hit games: Dominic Vogel (2-for-2), Nolan Drossel (2-for-5), Casey Sehr (2-for-4)

• Extra-base hits: Drossel (double)

• RBIs: Ransom (1), Vogel (1), Sehr (1), Estrada (1)

• Clutch situations: USF scored twice in the third and added two more in the seventh before bringing the tying run to the plate in the ninth.

• Team totals: 11 hits, 7 walks, 1 error, 12 runners left on base

Game Two – How It Happened

Florida Tech came out fast in the nightcap, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first inning and putting the Cougars in an immediate hole. The Panthers strung together six hits in the frame, including RBI doubles from Anthony Fimiano and Marcello Cortale, an RBI single from Joseph Phan, and a sacrifice fly to take a 5-0 lead before USF had a chance to settle in.

Florida Tech added one more in the second on an RBI single, extending the margin to 6-0.

From there, the Cougars settled down on the mound and tried to chip away. Colin Gibson singled in the third, Dominic Vogel singled and stole second in the fourth, and Casey Sehr singled in the fifth, but Hunter Stolov kept Sioux Falls off the board through six innings.

USF finally broke through in the seventh. Vogel singled up the middle, Brady Schafer doubled down the left-field line, and Sehr lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score Vogel and trim the lead to 6-1.

That would be all the offense Sioux Falls could muster, however, as Florida Tech closed out the game.

Game Two – On the Mound

• Starting pitcher: Owen Weadge – 3.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

• Decision: Loss – Weadge (0-2)

• Bullpen impact: Tyler Maeyaert was strong in relief, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings and allowing just two hits while striking out two.

• Notable pitching moments: After the rough first two innings, Maeyaert helped stabilize the game and prevented Florida Tech from adding on the rest of the way.

Game Two – At the Plate

• Multi-hit games: Dominic Vogel (2-for-3)

• Extra-base hits: Brady Schafer (double)

• RBIs: Casey Sehr (1)

• Clutch situations: USF's best chance came in the seventh when Vogel and Schafer reached scoring position and Sehr delivered a sacrifice fly for the Cougars' only run.

• Team totals: 6 hits, 0 walks, 0 errors, 5 runners left on base

Key Cougars (Day Standouts)

• Dominic Vogel – Reached base consistently across both games, totaling four hits and driving key offensive pressure in the middle of the order.

• Casey Sehr – Collected three hits on the day, drove in two runs, and contributed in both rallies.

• Carter Sehr – Delivered three scoreless innings with four strikeouts in game one to keep the Cougars within striking distance.

• Tyler Maeyaert – Gave USF 2.2 scoreless innings in game two after the Panthers' early surge.

• Nolan Drossel – Had a two-hit game in the opener and helped ignite one of the Cougars' comeback pushes.

Coach's Corner

"We didn't get good starting pitcher today in either game and that's what we've been hanging our hat on," said head coach Grant Hieb. "Fortunately our relievers did a good job of keeping us in the game and not letting it get out of hand. Our offense battled back and made it interesting in the ninth, but it was too little too late. Hopefully tomorrow we can continue to put together better at-bats and get out of here with a win before we head back home."
- Head Coach Grant Hieb

Up Next

The Cougars close out their Florida trip with the series finale against Florida Tech on Sunday, March 8 at 1:00 p.m. (CST) at Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field in Melbourne, Florida. Sioux Falls will look to bounce back and finish the weekend on a positive note before returning home.

Stay Connected

For all things USF Baseball, be sure to download the USF Cougars app as well as follow along on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! Be the first to know what's going on inside USF Athletics by subscribing to our Weekly Newsletter!