MIAMI (March 31, 2015) – Bethune-Cookman rattled off two runs in the eighth and added two more in the ninth to hand the FIU baseball team (13-16) a 7-4 loss on Tuesday evening from the FIU Baseball Stadium.
FIU scored four runs on six hits and was led by sophomore
JC Escarra, who went 2-for-4 with a solo home run. Freshman
Jack Schaaf was 1-for-1 on the night with two RBI, while drawing to walks. Sophomore
Kolby Follis scored two of the Panthers' four runs, going 1-for-2 from the plate.
The Wildcats' (11-21) big bat came from Austin Garcia, who drove in five runs while going 2-for-4.
Sophomore
Williams Durruthy suffered the loss, giving up two runs on three hits and striking out two in two and two-thirds innings of action. Starter
David Lee earned the "no decision" allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits in five innings pitched. The Gainesville, Fla., native struck out a career-high seven batters in his first-career start.
B-CU's Michael Austin (3-1) earned the victory giving up one run on one hit in two innings of relief.
The Wildcats took a one-run lead three times in the game, scoring a run in the second, fourth and sixth innings. FIU responded with runs in third, fifth and seventh innings to tie the game up. Heading into the top of the eighth with the score knotted up at 3-3, B-CU scored two runs to take a 5-3 lead. Escarra's solo shot pulled the Panthers within one (5-4) in the bottom of the eighth. However, the Wildcats countered with two more runs in the top of the ninth for a 7-4 advantage. FIU went down in the bottom of the ninth to suffer the three-run loss.
The Panthers will return to Conference USA action, hosting the UTSA Roadrunners in a three-game set this weekend. Game one of the weekend series will take place on Friday, April 3. First pitch is set for 7 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.
