MIAMI (May 30, 2015) – Sophomore right-hander
Chris Mourelle tossed seven and one-third innings of scoreless ball to guide the FIU baseball team (30-30) to a 2-0 victory over the East Carolina Pirates (40-22) in game three of the Coral Gables Regional at Mark Light Field on Saturday afternoon.
Mourelle along with junior
Danny Dopico held the Pirates to seven hits for the Panthers' fifth combined shutout of the season. The win also improves FIU to 4-0 all-time versus ECU and eliminates the Pirates from regional action.
Mourelle struck out three batters, while walking none and scattering six hits in his 17
th appearance of the season. Dopico (3-4) earned the victory hurling one and two-thirds innings, allowing just one hit. The FIU closer struck out four of the six batters he faced.
Senior
Josh Anderson (1-for-4) and junior
Austin Rodriguez (2-for-4) each drove in a run with Anderson's RBI proving to be the game-winner in the bottom of the eighth. With runners on the corners, the FIU third baseman sent a single to left on a 2-1 count to score junior
Edwin Rios (2-for-4) from third. Two batters later, Rodriguez added an insurance run with an RBI-single to left field, scoring senior
Brian Portelli (1-for-4), who was on third.
The win marked the first NCAA regional victory for the Panthers since the 2001 South Bend Regional when FIU advanced to the Super Regionals.
With the shutout, the Panthers have not allowed a run in 16-consecutive innings and it marked the team's first shutout in the NCAAs since a 7-0 blanking of Florida Atlantic on May 27, 2000 (Coral Gables Regional).
The Panthers will next take the field on Sunday, May 31, and will face the loser of the Miami-Columbia contest in an elimination game. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN3.
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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).
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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).
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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/.
