MIAMI (April 19, 2023) – With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 11th, Mike Rosario worked a walk-off walk as the FIU baseball team took down No. 24 Florida Gulf Coast, 5-4, on Wednesday night.
 
The victory over FGCU marks the first win over a ranked opponent since 2021 when the Panthers defeated No. 14 Louisiana Tech at FIU Baseball Stadium.
 
Rosario showed a great eye at the plate versus the Eagles, going 1-3 with three walks. With his hit in the 11th inning, Alec Sanchez moved his on-base streak to 19.
 
The new faces in the lineup got the scoring going early for the Panthers in the bottom of the second.
 
Cesar Franco was back in the lineup for the first time since March 22. In his first at bat, he slapped the first pitch he saw down the left field line for an RBI. Craig Palidar, making his first start for FIU, followed Franco with a RBI single to right field to put FIU up 2-0.
 
The Eagles struck back in the top of the third, tying the game up with a two-run home run from Edrick Felix.
 
For the next seven innings both teams would play shutout baseball.
 
Zac Lampton entered the game in the fourth and immediately sat down the Eagles in order. In the fifth he faced FGCU's Alejandro Figueredo with the bases loaded and two outs, inducing the inning-ending fly out after a seven-pitch battle.
 
Bryan Pazos faced a high-leverage situation in the seventh inning as Florida Gulf Coast got a man to third with only one out. He went on to strike out the next two batters to strand another Eagle 90 feet from scoring.
 
Pazos and Cameron Knox would go on to retire 12-consecutive batters with a walk in the 11th inning ending the streak.
 
After the walk, FGCU's Harrison Povey hit a two-run shot over the right field wall to put the Eagles ahead, 4-2.
 
Sanchez and Ryne Guida led off the bottom of the 11th with back-to-back singles. A fielder's choice in the next at bat would push Sanchez to third and put Adrian Figueroa at first with one out.
 
A hard-hit ground ball by Henry Wallen led to an error at second base, allowing Sanchez to score and bring the Panthers within one.
 
Florida Gulf Coast then intentionally walked Brian Loriga to load the bases for Brendan Roney who drew a seven-pitch walk to bring in another run and tie the game, 4-4.
 
Noel Perez was the next batter and after a five-pitch battle he would go down swinging.
 
Rosario then stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs on the board. After swinging and missing at the first pitch, he showed incredible nerve and watched four-straight pitches miss the zone for the walk-off walk.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers are back at home this weekend to host No. 22 Texas-San Antonio. Game one is set for Friday April 21 with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.
 
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