HATTIESBURG, Miss. (March 14, 2014) -- Southern Miss used multiple three-run innings to defeat FIU, 7-3, and even the series Saturday in Hattiesburg, Miss.
The Golden Eagles (10-7-1, 1-1 Conference USA) scored three runs in the fifth inning and three runs in the eighth inning to fuel their first conference victory of the season. The Panthers fell to 9-10 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Taylor Braley's two-run single off FIU starter
Andres Nunez (2-2) in the bottom of the fifth put USM ahead to stay. FIU opened the scoring with an RBI single by
Julius Gaines that scored
Eddie Silva in the top of the third inning.
Jack Schaaf led FIU going 3-for-4 and is 5-for-8 in the series.
Right-hander Cody Carroll (1-0) allowed one earned run over seven innings to record the win for the Golden Eagles.
Nunez was saddled with the loss, allowing three runs on six hits with six strikeouts in four and two-thirds innings of action.
FIU will try to win the series Sunday when right-hander
Chris Mourelle takes on USM right-hander James MacMahon at 1 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). #####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.
