MIAMI (April 14, 2022) – The FIU baseball team fell 5-3 on Thursday night to the No. 11 Southern Miss Golden Eagles to open the holiday weekend series. 
 
On a night that was dominated by pitching, Robert Sotolongo paced the Panthers at the plate with a team-best two hits and a run driven in. Alec Sanchez and Dante Girardi each had a base knock and an RBI, while Adrian Figueroa reached with a single in the seventh.
 
Kevin Martin got the nod and surrendered a single run during his 2.1 innings of work. Thursday night was Martin's first start since March 12 against Jacksonville. 
 
Panther reliever Zach Lampton was handed the loss after allowing a pair of runs over 2.2 innings.
 
The FIU relief trio of Owen Puk, Jan Figueroa and Angel Tiburcio combined for 3.2 innings of shutout ball out the bullpen. 
 
Southern Miss broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third with a single run before FIU answered right back when Mario Zabala scored on a Sotolongo chopper over the third baseman's head after a balk call moved Zabala up 90 feet.
 
Following the 1-1 tie, the Golden Eagles added a pair of runs in the fifth and in the seventh to build a 5-1 lead at the seventh-inning stretch. 
 
FIU cut the lead to 5-3 when Sanchez scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Girardi in the seventh before Zabala scored on a Sanchez sacrifice fly in the eighth.
 
The Blue & Gold had the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth when Girardi doubled to right center before the USM bullpen sealed the 5-3 final.
 
UP NEXT
FIU and Southern Miss will play game two of the weekend set at FIU Baseball Stadium on Friday. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. ET.
   
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