FORT MYERS -- FIU wasted no time getting re-acquainted with Florida Gulf Coast pitching after a four-year hiatus in the intrastate series. The Panthers pounded 14 hits, including three home runs en route to a 12-5 win over the Eagles Tuesday night at Swanson Stadium in Fort Myers.
Led by
Zach Files's two home runs and four RBI, FIU (22-15) scored nine early runs in its first meeting with FGCU (28-11) in four years. The teams last played in 2013.
Files went 4 for 4 with two solo home runs and had four RBI.
Nick Day and Files each had two-run singles in the first inning off FGCU starter Mario Leon (3-2) to start the scoring for the Panthers. The inning was set up by Leon hitting
Irving Lopez with a pitch.
Zack Soria singled to center and
JC Escarra drew a walk to load the bases before Day singled to left field. Files followed with a single to right.
The Panthers scored five runs in the fourth with a couple of home runs.
Files led off the fourth with a solo home run to right to make it 5-0, FIU.
Kobe Lopez and
Irving Lopez both singled – the latter single scored
Kobe Lopez. Zach Soria's RBI single plated
Irving Lopez and FIU was up 7-0.
Kenny Meimerstorf capped off the fourth inning with a two-run home run to left that staked the Panthers to a 9-0 lead.
In the eighth, Files, a senior third baseman, hit his fifth homer of the season.
The runs were plenty for FIU pitching. Starter
Robert Garcia (4-4) went five-plus innings, allowed seven hits, three runs and struck out seven to record the win.
Michael Agis kept FGCU at bay when he worked out of a dicey situation in the bottom of the sixth.
Relieving Garcia with the bases loaded and no outs, Agis induced Corey Fehribach to bounce into a 3-2-3 double play and then struck out Spencer Levine. Agis limited the damage to two runs off Garcia and maintained FIU's lead at 9-3.
Agis pitched the final four innings to record his second save of the season.
Irving Lopez, Soria and Meimerstorf were each 2 for 5. Meimerstorf drove in three runs to increase his team lead in RBI to 30.
FIU and FGCU wrap up the two-game series Wednesday at the FIU ballpark. First pitch for the series finale has been moved up to 6 p.m. The game can be seen on PantherVision and C-USA TV.
