DALLAS, Texas (Mar. 19, 2023) – Baseball closed out its series with Dallas Baptist on Sunday beating the Patriots, 7-6, to secure the first Conference USA win of the Rich Witten era.
 
Junior Dante Girardi went 1-4 with two RBI, a walk and a home run in the win over DBU. His top of the first home run pushed his hit streak to 11 games.
 
Redshirt junior Henry Wallen was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle after going 3-5 with two RBI.
 
For the fourth-consecutive game the Panthers scored in the first inning, this time putting up four.
 
Girardi stepped up to the plate with Marcus O'Malley on base, after the sophomore drew a walk, and put the ball over the left field wall to give FIU a 2-0 lead.
 
With the bases loaded, Henry Wallen picked up an RBI single. Steven Ondina then drew a bases-loaded walk to push the Panthers' advantage to 4-0.
 
DBU drew one back in the bottom of the inning but FIU would add two more runs in the top of the third.
 
Adrian Figueroa kicked the inning off with a leadoff walk. Wallen would drive him home with a triple to the right-center gap, his second RBI of the day.
 
Ondina would also pick up his second RBI of the day pushing home a run on a fielder's choice to build the lead to 6-2.
 
The Patriots would cut their deficit in half after scoring runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
 
FIU would score an insurance run in the eighth after an Ondina SAC bunt turned into an error, allowing Wallen to score, going up 7-3.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, DBU would come within one. With two outs and the bases loaded, Jackson Ritchey struck out the Patriots' top batter Grant Jay to secure the, 7-6, victory.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers are back at home on Wednesday March 22 to take on Florida Gulf Coast. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Fans can also watch the game live on C-USA TV.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Instagram (@FIU.Baseball), Twitter (@FIUBaseball), and Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUBaseball) for all the latest Baseball news.
 
General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.