MIAMI (May 6, 2015) – The FIU baseball team (23-25) used the long ball and used it often, going deep four times in a 9-0 rout of Jacksonville (21-27) on Wednesday evening from the FIU Baseball Stadium.
Three Panthers accounted for four home runs in the contest. Junior
Edwin Rios hit his Conference USA-leading 15th homer of the season with a three-run shot in the first. Not to be outdone, senior
Brian Portelli crushed a three-run home run in the seventh. Sophomore
JC Escarra recorded the other two homers for the Panthers with a pair of solo shots in the fourth and seventh innings.
In all the, FIU scored nine runs on 10 hits. Portelli (3-for-4) and freshman
Jack Schaaf (3-for-4) led the Panthers in batting. Portelli drove in three and scored twice. Schaaf scored two runs and registered two doubles versus the Dolphins. Escarra went 2-of-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Rios knocked in three with one swing on a 1-for-3 night.
Freshman
David Lee (2-1) was credited with the win, allowing no runs on three hits, while striking out four in six innings of action.
FIU jumped out all over the JU in the bottom of the first, scoring four runs, including Rios' three-run homer. Senior
Julius Gaines (1-for-4) scored Portelli with an RBI-single to give the Panthers the four-run lead after one. Escarra made it 5-0 with the first of his two solo home runs in the bottom of the fourth. Portelli busted the game wide open with his three-run shot in the bottom of the seventh to make it 8-0. Escarra made it back-to-back jacks with a solo shot that same inning.
Lee,
Dillion Maya,
Ian Exposito and
Garrett Cave combined for a four-hit shutout of Jacksonville, marking the team's fourth combined shutout of the season.
FIU will host the UAB Blazers in a three-game, C-USA series this weekend, beginning Friday, May 8. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. ET.
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