Box Score MIAMI (May 11, 2014) – Freshman right-handed pitcher Chris Mourelle gave FIU (35-15, 15-12) another quality start in a 6-4 victory over Middle Tennessee (26-25, 14-13) on Sunday afternoon.
 
Mourelle tossed 7 2/3 innings, giving up just five hits, one earned run and striking out three. He dropped his season ERA to 1.65 and earned his team-leading ninth win. Junior Robby Kalaf entered the game in relief, earning his first career save. Junior Brian Portelli led the way for FIU, going 2-for-4 with three RBI while junior Alec Beyersdorf belted his first career home run in an FIU uniform.
 
Mourelle's lone run he gave up came in the first inning, an RBI double to Middle Tennessee's Trent Miller. Following three scoreless innings for FIU, Beyersdorf got FIU on the board with his home run over the left field fence.
 
FIU broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth. Junior Roche Woodard led off with a single, stole second and then advanced to third on senior Tyler Hibbert's base-hit to right. Junior Julius Gaines then walked to load the bases for the Panthers with one out. Junior Josh Anderson lined to left field on a sacrifice, scoring Woodard to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. Sophomore Edwin Rios followed with an RBI single and Portelli capped off the four-run fifth with a two-run single to up FIU's lead to 5-1.
 
The Panthers added some insurance in the seventh inning as Hibbert led off with a walk and Gaines reached on a bunt single. Portelli muscled a two-pitch strike through the infield to score Hibbert, giving the Panthers a 6-1 advantage.
 
The Raiders threatened with a three-run ninth, but Kalaf came in to get three quick outs to secure the victory for the Panthers.
 
FIU is back in action this Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. as it travels to Florida Atlantic for a midweek, non-conference game.

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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Fans can purchase tickets online, over the phone by calling 305-FIU-GAME, or in person at the R. Kirk Landon Fieldhouse Box Office. Tickets cost just $5 and group pricing is available for groups of 20 or more. 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 FIU Arena and at the FIU Football 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/.