Box Score MIAMI (May 16, 2013) – The FIU baseball team (25-28, 13-15 Sun Belt Conference) suffered a tough 4-3,  11-inning defeat to the Florida Atlantic Owls on Thursday night at the FIU baseball stadium. With one out in the 11th inning and the bases loaded, FAU scored the game-winner on a sacrifice fly to seal the 4-3 win.

Junior Tyler Alexander made a second-straight quality start going eight innings, giving up three runs while striking out 11. Alexander has now struck out 24 batters over the last 13 1/3 innings, as he struck out 13 in 5 1/3 at UALR last week. Senior T.J. Shantz and freshman Edwin Rios each recorded two hits in the loss.

The Owls put runs on the board in the second inning, as the first two runners reached base on a single and a walk. Both runners would score on a sacrifice fly and a single to give FAU a 2-0 advantage.

The Panthers were held to just two hits through the first six innings by FAU starter Austin Gomber. FIU would get to Gomber in the seventh. Sophomore Julius Gaines reached first on an error to lead things off, followed by a walk for sophomore Aramis Garcia. Following two outs, Shantz connected on a high-chopping RBI single to left to put the Panthers on the board.

With two outs, the Owls turned to the bullpen, as Kevin Alexander came in to face sophomore Oscar Aguirre. The Sunny Isles, Fla. native lifted a ball to the corner of the right field warning track, where FAU right fielder Corey Keller dropped the ball and was charged with a two-run error. FIU took a 3-2 lead into the eighth inning.

Keller redeemed himself with a solo homer off Alexander in the very next inning to tie the score at three.

FIU had runners on first and second with one out in the ninth, but two-straight Panther strikeouts forced extra innings. In the 11th, the Owls' first two batters reached safely. Then with one out and the bases loaded, Geoff Jiminez hit a sacrifice fly to score the game-winning run.

FIU and FAU are back in action tomorrow at 6 p.m.

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