MURFREESBORO, Tennessee (May 11, 2019) – The FIU baseball team had an offensive explosion in the late innings of Saturday's game against Middle Tennessee, as the Panthers scored five runs in the final two frames to take down the Blue Raiders, 7-3.
The game was pushed up to 4:00 p.m. ET, again under the threat of bad weather in the Murfreesboro area. Sunday's rubber match is slated for 1:00 p.m. ET, barring any future weather outbreaks in the Tennessee region.
With Saturday's victory, FIU improves to 21-29 overall and 10-16 in C-USA play. Middle Tennessee falls to 18-32 and 11-15 in league action.
Nick MacDonald picked up the win on the mound, pitching seven innings, allowing three runs and striking out six Blue Raiders. Peyton Wigginton received the loss after allowing four runs in 7.1 innings of work.
At the plate,
Jose Garcia had a great day as the Panther went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs.
Javier Valdes collected two hits on the day, while also earning a pair of RBIs.
Logan Allen earned his second homer of the season after his solo shot in the fifth inning.
After Allen's homer trimmed the deficit to 2-1, the Blue Raiders stretched their lead to 3-1 in the bottom half of the fifth inning. A Garcia single brought home Cartaya to spark a four-run eighth, as a two-run Valdes single and a
Kaeber Rog RBI groundout gave FIU the 6-3 lead. After
Austin Shenton extended his 21-game hit streak in the ninth inning with a double,
Jose Garcia doubled to left center to give the Panthers an insurance run and push the lead to 7-3.
Angel Tiburcio pitched a clean two innings after relieving MacDonald in the eighth, allowing just one hit to earn the save.
UP NEXT
After Sunday's rubber match against the Blue Raiders, the Panthers will cap their regular season road slate against Stetson on Tuesday, May 14 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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