Box Score MIAMI (March 1, 2013) – A ninth-inning rally by the FIU baseball team came up short as the Panthers fell to the Ole Miss Rebels 11-9 Friday evening at the FIU Baseball Stadium. The two teams combined for 20 runs and 31 hits.

Freshman Edwin Rios continued to swing a hot stick for the Panthers going 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBI. Junior Josh Anderson (1 for 5), senior Nathan Burns (2 for 4) and sophomore Aramis Garcia (3 for 5) also homered in the game.

Junior Mike Ellis (1-1) suffered the loss for the Panthers while Bobby Wahl (3-0) picked up the win for Ole Miss.

After falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first, the Panthers answered right away when Rios singled home Julius Gaines with no outs in the first. Gaines led off the game with a single up the middle before Zach Sweety walked and Rios drove in his 12th run of the season.

The Rebels picked up three in the second to take a 5-1 lead before FIU started to chip away at the Ole Miss advantage. FIU made it a 5-3 score when Gaines drove in Burns on a single and Rios was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Ole Miss then added two more runs in the fourth.

After the Rebels loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth inning, Ellis worked out of the jam by inducing a fly ball to right and then turning a 1-2-3 double play to end the Ole Miss threat.

Rios made it a 7-4 ballgame in the bottom of the fifth with a leadoff home run, his second of the season. Later in the inning, the Panthers loaded the bases with one out but couldn't capitalize as the Ole Miss shortstop made a great play in the hole to double up the speedy Burns and end the inning.

After Ole Miss added runs in the sixth and eighth innings, the Panthers started to mount a comeback, which started with a three-run bomb by Anderson to cut the Rebels lead to 9-7 in the bottom of the eighth. The Rebels then got two back in the top of the ninth for an 11-7 lead.

Down, but not out, Garcia started the Panthers off with a solo home run in the ninth to cut the Rebels lead to 11-8. Burns then followed with a one-out solo home run of his own off Rebels closer Brett Huber to make the score 11-9 Ole Miss. 

The Panthers will return to the diamond tomorrow for game two of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET.

Fans are encouraged to follow @FIUBaseball on Twitter, and "Like" FIU baseball on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/FIU Baseball) for the latest Panther baseball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics). Select FIU home games will also be streamed live through FIUSports.com free of charge to FIU fans.

Tickets are on sale for all FIU home games at the University Credit Union Box Office at the R. Kirk Landon Field House or by calling 305-FIU-Game or logging on to FIUSports.com.

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelors, masters and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and enrolls nearly 48,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu