Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (May 11, 2013) – The FIU baseball team (24-27, 12-14) suffered a 1-0 loss to the UALR Trojans on Saturday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field. Trojan starter Travis McDonald went 8 1/3 strong innings, holding the Panthers to just four hits. FIU stranded a runner at second in the ninth.

Panther starter Mike Franco put together a nice starting performance, going 6 1/3 innings, giving up five hits, one run and striking out seven. The junior faced the minimum in both the first and second innings. In the third inning, he struck out two and stranded a runner at first to keep the game in check at 0-0.

The Trojans struck in the fourth inning as catcher Blake Johnson doubled to center to start things off. Following a groundout to second, UALR's Chris Burk singled off Franco to drive in Johnson. The Trojans held a 1-0 lead for the rest of the contest.

In the fifth inning, FIU strung together two base hits, but the Trojans managed to escape the inning. That would be the last hit recorded for FIU until the ninth.

In the ninth inning, sophomore Julius Gaines led off with a screaming single down the right field line. Senior T.J. Shantz then bunted Gaines over to second. Junior Tyler Hibbert came in to pinch run for Gaines with one out. Tyler Buckley relieved McDonald with one out and managed to get sophomore Aramis Garcia and freshman Edwin Rios out to seal the victory.

FIU will play UALR in the rubber game tomorrow at noon ET.

Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUBaseball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUBaseball) for all the latest FIU 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).

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of the Sun Belt Conference and an affiliate member of Conference USA (men's soccer). 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 bachelor's, master's 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. FIU is a member of the Sun Belt Conference and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu