MIAMI (Feb. 28, 2015) – The FIU baseball team (6-5) split a doubleheader with the Manhattan Jaspers (1-6) on Saturday, Feb. 28, from the FIU Baseball Stadium.
 
The Saturday split gave the Panthers a 2-1 edge in the weekend set with the series finale schedule for Sunday, March. 1.
 
Despite the split, the Panthers .329 with 24 hits and 20 runs scored on the day, while the FIU pitching staff had a 1.50 ERA with 22 strikeouts, holding the Jaspers to a team batting average of .167.
 
Senior Brian Portelli hit .500 in the double dip, going 4-for-8 with four runs scored and an RBI. Twelve different Panthers registered at least one hit on Saturday, including junior Zach Soria, who went 3-for-6 from the plate with two RBI and two runs scored.
 
On the mound, freshman Andres Nunez notched a career-high nine strikeouts in eight innings of action while fellow freshman Garrett Cave allowed just one hit in five innings pitched.
 
Game One – FIU 17, Manhattan 0
FIU jumped all over Manhattan from the start of the game, scoring runs in each of the first four innings, including four in the first. An eight-run explosion in the bottom of the eighth put the game well out of reach, 17-0. The Panthers tallied 17 hits, including multiple-hit games by senior Julius Gaines (2-for-4), junior Rey Perez (2-for-2), Portelli (3-for-4) and Soria (2-for-5).
 
Nunez (2-0, 0.00 ERA) got his second start, allowing no runs on three hits in eight solid innings of action, while fanning a career-high nine batters for the win. The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native has not allowed an earned run in 16 and two-thirds innings pitched.
 
Game Two – Manhattan 5, FIU 3
In the second game of the Saturday doubleheader, a five-run seventh inning for Manhattan, handed FIU its second home loss of the season.
 
The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead through seven innings. FIU got on the board early scoring the team's first run in the bottom of the first when junior Edwin Rios drove in Portelli with an RBI single.
 
Neither team could muster much through the next three innings. However, FIU found itself in a bases loaded situation with no outs in the bottom of the fifth. The Panthers were able to score two that half of the inning but missed the opportunity for a big frame.
 
The Jaspers had that big inning in the top of the seventh, plating five runs to take their first lead of the series. FIU threatened in the eighth and ninth innings but could not cross home plate, falling to Manhattan, 5-3.
 
Junior Gianni Zayas suffered the loss, allowing four runs on three hits in one inning on the mound. Cave, who made his third start of the season got a "no-decision", hurling five shutout innings with four strikeouts.
 
Both teams will return to the park on Sunday, March 1, for the series finale. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m., with sophomore Chris Mourelle (1-1, 1.69 ERA) facing off against Tom Cosgrove (0-0, 6.75 ERA).
 
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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 Ocean Bank 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 54,000 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.