CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The FIU baseball program used a four-run seventh to down crosstown rivals, the Miami Hurricanes on Wednesday night in a 9-7 victory from Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
The win marks the first victory against the Hurricanes since April 25, 2018 in a 14-6 win from Coral Gables.
"It was great to get a win tonight," head coach Rich Witten added. "I want our program and our guys to understand that we can compete against anybody when we play well and do the things that we're coached to do."
FIU's (25-22) offense came to play with 12 hits as a ballclub, their 23rd game this season with 10 or more hits as a team.
Tied at five heading into the seventh, senior outfielder Jeff Liquori belted a three-run homer that was sent 423 feet in distance to push the Panthers to a 8-5 lead. Brendan Roney, who had a two-hit night pushed the lead to four in the seventh on a sacrifice fly.
The Panthers held on for the victory with Zac Lampton closing it out in the final two innings, allowing just no earned runs over the span with four strikeouts.
FIU came out the gates early with a three-run first. Senior Ryne Guida got the scoring started with a RBI double into the left centerfield gap, totaling for three-hits on the night. In addition, Guida extended his team-leading on-base streak to 32 games while marking his 50th RBI of the year, having secured 50 RBI seasons in back-to-back campaigns.
"Guida is someone that loves the game and he takes it very seriously, Witten detailed. "He's very engaged in every pitch, and every arm that's going out there. He's really bought in to winning for this program."
Liquori hit a sacrifice fly to center field and Chase Engelhard singled to right, making it 3-0 after one inning. Roney, ripped a solo homer off the scoreboard in the second for his 3rd home run of the season, extending it to 4-0.
Miami answered with three runs in the third including a two-run single before FIU pushed their lead to two on a RBI walk for Guida in the fourth. After a run in the bottom half of the fourth and RBI in the fifth, the Hurricanes (21-27) tied it up, yet the Panthers made notice in the seventh.
Three Panthers logged multi-hit performances (Brylan West, Guida and Roney) and eight of the nine starters in the FIU lineup reached base on Wednesday evening.
Lefty David Eckaus made his third start against the Hurricanes this season, working just 1.1 innings while allowing just no hits. Jackson Ritchey (3-1) earned the win in relief, giving up no runs over two innings down the stretch. Righty Joel Pineiro worked a scorlesss seventh on the mound and Lampton closed it out.
UP NEXT
FIU prepares for it's final CUSA series of the year as they welcome in Sam Houston Bearkats to FIU Baseball Stadium for a pivotal three-game weekend series. First pitch on Friday, May 10 is set for 6:30 p.m. and all games can be streamed on ESPN+.
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