MIAMI (April 22, 2015) - The FIU baseball team (18-22) picked up an 18-5 victory over the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish on Wednesday night. The Panthers collected 18 hits in the victory.

Junior Zack Soria led the way collecting four hits, driving in three runs and scoring twice. Junior Austin Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI  and two runs scored, while junior Edwin Rios collected two hits, including a home run and drove in four runs. 

The Sailfish jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Panthers added a two-spot in the bottom half. Freshman Jack Schaaf singled on a bunt with one out, setting things up for Rios, who sent a two-run homer over the left field fence to put the Panthers up, 2-1. PBA rallied though the following inning, scoring one to tie the game up at two before FIU's big bottom of the second.

In the bottom of the second, Rodriguez, senior Julius Gaines and freshman Eddie Silva each singled to load the bases with no outs. A walk to Soria and an error by the second baseman made it 4-2. Rios delivered a two-run single and Portelli drove one in on an RBI groundout to give the Panthers a 7-2 lead after two. In the bottom of the third, Rodriguez delivered his fourth home run of the season to extend FIU's advantage to 9-2.
After a Silva RBI groundout in the fifth, FIU tacked on six more runs in the sixth, which included an RBI double by senior Josh Anderson. Soria continued his strong night with an RBI single that inning as FIU left the frame with a 16-5 lead.

An RBI by sophomore JC Escarra, scored Portelli, who led off with a triple, made it 17-5 in the seventh. 

Freshman Spencer Levine drove in a run in the eighth, which was the 18^th and final run for the Panthers.

The Panthers host Louisiana Tech in a three-game set this weekend, beginning Friday. 

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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. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.