SAN ANTONIO – Logan Allen entered the game as a pinch hitter in the top of the eighth inning and homered to lift FIU to a 2-1 win over UTSA and a split of a doubleheader Friday night at Roadrunner Field in San Antonio.

The Panthers (18-20, 8-9 Conference USA) and Roadrunners (20-17, 8-8 C-USA) play the decisive game of the series Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT. FIU and UTSA have Saturday off due to expected inclement weather in San Antonio.

After UTSA was helped by a pair of FIU errors in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the score 1-1, Allen pinch hit for Juan Teixeira to lead off the top of the eighth.

Allen drilled the first pitch he saw from UTSA reliever Derek Craft over the left field wall to give the lead back to FIU. It was Allen's first collegiate home run.

The solo blast helped to make a winner of starter Andres Nunez, who was brilliant.

Nunez, a junior right-hander, pitched seven innings, allowed five hits, no earned runs and struck out a season-high nine batters.

During a stretch from the end of the second inning until one out in the seventh, Nunez (4-2) retired 15 of 17 batters.

Nunez did his best Houdini act in the fifth.

With FIU nursing a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth, UTSA center fielder Jonathan Tapia tripled into the right field corner with one out. Nunez recovered to strikeout UTSA's leading hitter Bryan Arias and got Ryan Stacy to bounce out to second base to quell the threat.

Tyler Myrick pitched the final two scoreless innings to record his first collegiate save.

Austin Shenton was 2 for 3 for the Panthers.