PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (March 10, 2015) – The FIU baseball team (8-9) dropped a pair of contests on Tuesday, March 10, falling to Seton Hall, 12-10, and losing to Saint Joseph's, 11-5, at the 2015 Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Seton Hall 12, FIU 10The first game of the day saw the Panthers score 10 runs on 12 hits, including a three-run blast by senior
Julius Gaines and a two-run shot by junior
Austin Rodriguez. However, Seton Hall (2-8) rattled off 12 runs on 12 hits to hand the Panthers the loss.
In the game, Gaines went 2-of-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with two RBI and three runs scored. Senior
Brian Portelli (2-for-5) and freshman
Mitchell Robinson (2-for-4) rounded out the multiple hits for FIU.
On the mound, freshman
David Lee (0-1) was saddled with the loss, allowing five runs on five hits in one and one-third innings pitched.
Falling behind 5-0, FIU responded with a combined eight runs in fifth and sixth innings to take an 8-5 lead. But, the Pirates answered with seven runs of their own (five in the sixth and two in the seventh) to regain the lead. The Panthers responded with two runs in the top of the ninth, but it was not enough as FIU suffered the two-run loss.
Saint Joseph's 11, FIU 5The Panthers looked to rebound in their second game of the day taking on the Redhawks (2-8).
Freshman
Eddie Silva had the big hit for FIU driving in two runs on a double to right center as the Panthers rallied from a 1-0 deficit to take a 4-1 lead in the fifth.
Once again, FIU's opponent responded with a big inning of its own in the bottom of the fifth to regain the lead, 6-4. The Panthers added a run in the top of the sixth but could not get any closer as SJU added five more runs for the 11-5 win.
Junior
Gianni Zayas (0-2), making his first-career start, suffered the loss, giving up five runs on six hits in four and one-third innings of action.
FIU will begin Conference USA action with a three-game set at Southern Miss beginning Friday, March 13. First pitch for the series opener is set for 7 p.m. ET.
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