MIAMI (Feb. 19, 2019) - FIU baseball surged past Bethune-Cookman by a score of 9-2 to win its opening midweek game of the season on Tuesday night at the FIU Baseball Stadium.
 
The Panthers' record improves to 2-2, while Bethune-Cookman drops to 1-3 on the season. 
 
FIU's Everett Hurst (1-0) earned the win after only giving up one run in two innings pitched. Hurst came on in relief of freshman Franco Aleman, who pitched the first four innings and allowed just one run while fanning five batters. Bethune-Cookman's Joseph Strong (0-1) was handed the loss after surrendering eight runs in the bottom of the first.
 
Adan Fernandez led the Panther offensive outburst going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Both of the sophomore's RBIs came on a first inning home run to left center. The FIU duo of Lorenzo Hampton, Jr. and Derek Cartaya each accounted for two hits, while Austin Shenton and Jose Garcia both contributed two RBIs to the cause.
 
The Panthers came out of the dugout swinging, sending 14 batters to the plate in the home half of the first and scoring all nine runs in the frame. Garcia opened the barrage with a one-out double, scoring Jarrett Ford and Cartaya. Garcia scored on a Hampton single, who later scored on the Fernandez homer. A Javier Valdes single followed by back-to-back walks to John Rodriguez and Luis Chavez jump started the second scoring wave for FIU. Ford's RBI single and a Cartaya sac fly pushed the lead to 7-0. The final two runs of the inning came home on a Shenton single to center.      
 
FIU's bullpen held the Wildcats to just two hits over the final four innings to preserve a Panther victory.
 
UP NEXT
The first road trip of the season begins on Friday with a two-game weekend set in Port Charlotte, Fla. against the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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