BECKLEY, West Va. – Fog rolled in from the West Virginia mountains into Epling Stadium in the bottom of the ninth inning with FIU one out away from sweeping a doubleheader from Marshall on Saturday night.
With the thick soupy fog, reminiscent of the fog from old Candlestick Park in San Francisco, visibility was impossible. Thus, the conclusion – or final out -- of the nightcap of the twinbill was suspended until Sunday morning at 10 a.m.
FIU leads 4-3 in the second game of the doubleheader, which is also the third game of the three-game series.
The game will be picked up Sunday morning with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and Marshall's Tommy Lane at first base. Will Ray will be at the plate facing FIU left-hander
Dominic LoBrutto with no count in the at-bat.
Just before play was suspended, Lane hit a routine fly ball to
Jack Schaaf in left field, which would have been the final out of the game but Schaaf could not see the ball through the fog and it dropped nearly 15 feet away from Schaaf. Shane Hanon, who was at second base, scored on Lane's gift single to narrow the Panthers' lead to 4-3.
The Panthers just have to record one more out Sunday morning to sweep the doubleheader and take the three-game series from the Herd.
Game 2 – FIU 11, Marshall 5
Before the fog rolled in late Saturday night, FIU jumped on Marshall on a 48-degree, rainy Saturday afternoon in the first game of the doubleheader. The outburst led to an 11-5 Panthers' win.
The Panthers (24-16, 9-8 Conference USA) scored seven runs in the first four innings to build a 7-0 lead.
Kenny Meimerstorf hit a two-run home run off Marshall starter Wade Martin (3-2) in the bottom of the first inning to get FIU going. The round-tripper was the sixth of the season for Meimerstorf.
Irving Lopez singled and
Zack Soria doubled him home in the third to make it 3-0.
RBI singles by
Adam Sevario,
Irving Lopez and Schaaf in the fourth extended the lead to 7-0.
Marshall (19-20, 8-9) managed to get three runs off FIU starter
Tyler Myrick (4-2) before the freshman exited after six innings. Myrick allowed just two hits, but walked five and struck out four to post his fourth win of the season.
JC Escarra put the game away with a three-run home run to right off Hunter Sexton in the seventh. It was Escarra's team-leading eighth homer of the season.
Irving Lopez, Schaaf, Soria, Escarra and Sevario each had two hits in the first game.
