BOCA RATON, Florida (May 1, 2021) – Propelled by the left arm of Garett Rukes, the FIU baseball team downed the homestanding FAU Owls by a 6-1 score to even the weekend series at one apiece.
The big lefty from Coconut Creek, Florida picked up his third win of season in dominating fashion after striking out a career-high 10 batters, while only allowing one run on two hits for his first-career complete game.
Rukes only faced 29 batters and at one point retired 15 Owls in a row.
FAU held a 1-0 lead after a solo homer in the first inning, before the Panthers took the lead in the top half of the sixth.
Ben Rozenblum and
Adrian Figueroa got things going with back-to-back one-out singles in the sixth, as
Justin Farmer's bat came to the plate. The Panther outfielder launched his team-leading seventh homer deep into the Boca Raton sky to give FIU a 3-1 advantage.
Three more insurance runs were added by the Panthers in the ninth, as
Dante Girardi scored on a
Derek Cartaya groundout which led to a Figueroa two-run double that plated
Alec Sanchez and
Humberto Torres.
In a rain delayed series opener, FIU fell 12-2 in seven innings.
Steven Ondina collected his first collegiate home run in the seventh.
UP NEXT
The weekend series will be decided on Sunday, as FIU and FAU face off in a doubleheader featuring two seven-inning games starting at Noon.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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