MIAMI (March 6, 2019) – On a chilly night in South Florida, the FIU baseball team topped the Florida A&M Rattlers, 8-6, for head coach Mervyl Melendez's 600^th career win.

Sophomore Cody Cortelli picked up the win in relief when he cut down a potential FAMU rally in the sixth inning. FAMU's Zach Morea was handed the loss after surrendering four runs in the opening frame.
 
The Panther trio of Derek Cartaya, Logan Allen and Lorenzo Hampton, Jr. led the FIU offensive attack with a pair of hits each. Cartaya also swiped two bags on the evening. Six different Panthers batted in a run on Wednesday night.
 
The celebration started early when Cartaya singled to right center to lead off the game and later scored on a two base error by the Rattlers. Logan Allen scored when Juan Teixeira was hit with the bases loaded. Austin Shenton singled and later scored on a FAMU wild pitch. The final run of the first inning scored when Adan Fernandez came home on a bases loaded walk by Jarrett Ford. The Panthers added another run in the second when Allen scored on a Fernandez sac fly.
 
The Rattlers got on the board with a run in the third and pair of runs in the fifth, but FIU answered right back when Teixeira scored on a Ford double to make it 6-3. The Panthers added an insurance run in the eighth by way of a Shenton single that scored Ford after FAMU scored one in the sixth and one in the seventh.
 
FAMU scored one more time in the ninth, before Jose Varela closed out the midweek series with his first save in a Panther uniform.  
 
UP NEXT
FIU returns to action on Friday to begin a three-game weekend series with Seton Hall at FIU Baseball Stadium.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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