Box Score MIAMI (March 23, 2013) – The FIU baseball team (20-4, 6-3 Conference USA) earned the series sweep over the Marshall Thundering Herd, picking up an 11-1 victory on Sunday afternoon. The game finished in seven innings due to the Conference USA Sunday 10-run rule.
Freshman
Chris Mourelle continued his hot pitching, tossing six scoreless innings and lowering his season ERA to 0.85 as he improved to 4-0. Senior
Tyler Hibbert extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a 2-for-2 effort, driving in one run and scoring three times. Junior
Julius Gaines also had two hits, two RBI and two runs scored. Junior
Brian Portelli belted his first home run of 2014 and junior
Aramis Garcia drove in three.
Hibbert and Gaines each walked to lead things off in the first for the Panthers and then advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Garcia tallied the first of his three sacrifice fly RBI to give FIU a 1-0 lead. Junior
Josh Anderson singled to give FIU runners at first and third, setting up an RBI single for sophomore
Edwin Rios. An error by the Herd plated a third run in the first for the Panthers.
Hibbert helped FIU manufacture a run in the second, as he led off with a single and then stole his 12th base of the season. Gaines grounded out to move Hibbert to third, leading to the sacrifice fly for Garcia to put FIU up 4-0.
The first two Panther batters in the fourth reached on an error and a walk. Gaines singled to score junior
L.K. Thompson from third and Garcia followed with his third sacrifice fly. Gaines would cap-off a three-run fourth inning by scoring on a passed ball to give FIU a 7-0 lead.
With one out and a runner on in the fifth, junior
Brian Portelli was called upon to pinch-hit and for the second straight day, he came through. The Michigan native drilled his first career home run in an FIU uniform to give the Panthers a 9-0 lead. RBI singles from Hibbert and Gaines later in the inning increased FIU's lead to 11-0.
The Panthers surrendered a run to Marshall in the top of the seventh.
FIU will travel to USF on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. contest with the Bulls. Junior Mike Ellis will start on the mound for the Panthers. Fans can listen to Tuesday's game on the FIU Sports Radio Network on FIUSports.com.
Pete Pelegrin will have the call of the game beginning at 5:55 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 Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
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Season tickets for the FIU baseball season are on sale. Tickets for the 2014 campaign cost just $50 per ticket for all fans this year. Fans can purchase tickets online, over the phone by calling 305-FIU-GAME, or in person at the R. Kirk Landon Fieldhouse Box Office. Student admission is free to all FIU baseball home games.
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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 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida¹s 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. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
