MIAMI (March 8, 2015) – Junior
Edwin Rios drove in three of the Panthers' seven run as the FIU baseball team (8-7) took the final game of a three game set with the UConn Huskies, 7-4, on Sunday afternoon from the FIU Baseball Stadium.
Rios (2-for-4) was one of five FIU batters to register multiple hits as the Panthers produced 12 hits versus the Huskies pitching staff. Freshman
Jack Schaaf (2-for-3), senior
Julius Gaines (2-for-4), junior
Zach Soria (3-for-3) and junior
Austin Rodriguez (2-for-3) joined Rios in record two-or-more base knocks in the game.
Rios drove in a game-high three runs, including two on a home run in the fifth inning. The long ball was the Orlando, Fla., native's second of the season. Soria and Rodriguez each crossed the plate twice in the game, while Gaines scored a run and Schaaf scored once and drove in another.
Sophomore
Chris Mourelle (3-1) had a strong outing, lasting seven and two-thirds innings, while allowing two runs on four hits and striking out five. The Miami native earned his second-straight win. Junior
Danny Dopico came out of the bullpen to earn the save. Dopico threw one and one-third innings of action, allowing two unearned runs on one hit with two Ks.
The Panthers jumped out on the Huskies, scoring two runs in the bottom of the third off of a throwing error by UConn hurler Jordan Tabakman. FIU added two more in the bottom of the fifth with Rios' two-run blast for a 4-0 lead. A wild pitch and a sacrifice fly by Schaaf gave FIU a 6-0 advantage going into the eighth.
UConn got on the board with a two-run homer by Aaron Hill to cut the deficit to 6-2. But, FIU responded in the bottom half of the eight with Rios' third RBI of the game off of a single, 7-2.
The Huskies built a slight rally in the top of the ninth, scoring two runs to make the score 7-4. However, Dopico shut the door on UConn to preserve the win and prevent a UConn series sweep.
FIU will travel to Port Charlotte, Fla., to face the Seton Hall Pirates (noon) and the St. Joseph's Hawks (4:00 p.m.) on Tuesday, March 10.
##### 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.
