MIAMI (May 13, 2023) – A Dante Girardi walk-off single capped a late-game comeback as the FIU baseball team defeated Charlotte, 4-3, on Saturday night.
 
Starting pitcher Kevin Martin was excellent in his 4.1 innings of work, allowing only two hits and striking out five.
 
He opened the game by striking out the side in order on 14 pitches. In the second inning, Charlotte would get a runner in scoring position, but Martin would strand the 49er with another punchout.
 
He sat down the side in order again in the third inning, this time on just five pitches as the defense recorded the three outs.
 
Charlotte broke the deadlock in the top of the fourth.
 
A walk and a hit-by-pitch put a runner in scoring position for the 49ers with two outs. Kaden Hopson then dropped a ball into shallow left to score the man from second and make the score 1-0.
 
The 49ers added two more in the fifth. A RBI double by Jack Dragum and a RBI single by Cam Fisher would put Charlotte up 3-0.
 
FIU's Zac Lampton entered the game in the top of the sixth and cooled the Charlotte bats. The redshirt junior struck out the side in order in his first inning of work and shut out the 49ers for three-consecutive innings.

The Panthers began to mount a comeback in the bottom of the seventh when Craig Palidar led off the inning with a solo home run to left center field, bringing the score to 3-1.
 
The Panthers would tie the game up in the eighth.
 
Mike Rosario led off the inning with a double. Ground outs by Alec Sanchez and Ryne Guida would bring Rosario home and cut the 49ers' advantage to 3-2.
 
Bryan Loriga was the next batter and he hit a no-doubt solo home run over the left field netting to tie the game at 3-3.
 
Charlotte threatened to retake the lead in the ninth, but Ryan Cabarcas locked in and struck out three 49ers to give FIU a chance for a walk-off win.
 
The Panthers started the bottom of the ninth with two quick outs. Ruben Carpio came in as a pinch hitter and stung a ball into the right center gap for a double, keeping the FIU rally alive.
 
He was followed by Girardi who swung at the first pitch he saw and scored the runner from second with the series-winning RBI single.
 
UP NEXT
FIU looks to sweep Charlotte on Sunday May 14 with first pitch set for 12 p.m. Fans can watch the game live on C-USA TV.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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