MIAMI (March 22, 2015) – FIU baseball (11-13, 3-3 C-USA) continued its hot hitting, registering 14 hits in a 7-5 win over Charlotte (7-11, 1-8 C-USA) to take the weekend series (2-1) on Sunday.
Junior
Zach Soria was a perfect 4-for-4 from the plate, increasing his batting average 39 points for a .388 clip on the year. The Homer Glen, Ill., native scored one run and drove in another, while also recording his second double of the season. Junior
Edwin Rios had another stellar outing versus Charlotte, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. The Orlando, Fla., product blasted his fourth home run of the series and sixth long ball of the year on Sunday. Senior
Brian Portelli had a three-hit game versus the 49ers (3-for-5), scoring a run, while freshman
Mitchell Robinson went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Sophomore starter
Chris Mourelle (4-2) earned his fourth win of the season, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits in seven innings of action. Junior
Danny Dopico came into the game in the eighth to shut the door on Charlotte to earn the save. The save for Dopico was his fourth of the season as the Miami native hurled two shutout innings, striking out five.
FIU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead heading into fourth. After retiring nine-straight, Mourelle got in a little trouble as the 49ers plated two to cut the Panther lead to 3-2. FIU responded with three more runs (two in the fifth and one in the sixth) to take a 6-2 advantage.
The 49ers got to Mourelle again in the eighth, scoring three more to make it a 6-5 game, however FIU added an insurance run in the bottom half of the frame to make it 7-5. Dopico kept Charlotte at bay in the top of the ninth as FIU clinched the series, 7-5.
FIU finished the series hitting .369 with six home runs and 29 RBI. Led by Rios, who went 7-for-12 (.583) with four home runs, one double and eight RBI, the Panthers tallied a .604 team slugging percentage versus Charlotte. On the mound, FIU recorded a 2.52 team ERA with 24 strikeouts in 25 innings of action.
The Panthers will take a break from conference action as they travel to Daytona Beach, Fla., to take on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Tuesday, March 24. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. ET.
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