MIAMI – The FIU Baseball program dropped the opening game of Conference USA action, losing 12-8 on Friday night to the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders from FIU Baseball Stadium.
 
FIU fell in an 8-0 hole in the second as Middle Tennesee scored all eight runs on seven hits with two outs including back-to-back HRs.
 
The Panthers tried to claw their way back, putting up a pair of runs in the fifth as Jeff Liquori scored his 17^th RBI of the season on a single. Ryne Guida added with a sacrifice fly to left center, notching his team-leading 18^th RBI of the year.
 
The Blue Raiders added runs in the sixth and eight innings, marking their lead to ten heading into the bottom half of the eighth. FIU responded with a two-run single off the bat of Brylan West.
 
Into the ninth, FIU tried to rally scoring four in the inning noted by a two-run for the freshman Samuel Fischer, the first RBI hit for the Cali, Colombia product. An Alex Ulloa RBI single and Andre Martinez sacrifice cut the game to just four, yet Middle Tennessee earned the final out to take game one.
 
Cameron Knox was tagged with the loss (0-2), firing off four innings of no earned runs and struck out five. Bryce Greene worked a pair in the middle innings, allowed two earned. Jaydon Bishop threw three innings with five strikeouts.
 
Shortstop Alex Ulloa recorded a three-hit night, his sixth multi-hit effort of the season.
 
Austin Dearing extended his on-base streak to six games with a single.

UP NEXT
FIU continues the series on Saturday night against the Blue Raiders with first pitch set for 5 p.m. from FIU Baseball Stadium. It can be streamed on ESPN+.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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