TAMPA – The FIU baseball team came up just short in a tightly contested midweek matchup, falling 6-5 to South Florida on Tuesday night at USF Baseball Stadium.
After trailing 4-1 through two innings, the Panthers clawed their way back, eventually tying the game in the eighth inning before the Bulls capitalized on a pair of late runs to secure the victory.
FIU (7-2) found itself in an early deficit as South Florida struck first with a two-run homer from Sebastian Grieco in the opening frame. The Panthers responded in the second when Alex Ulloa roped an RBI single to center, scoring Albert Serrano, who had doubled earlier in the inning.
The Bulls extended their lead to 4-1 in the bottom half of the second, plating two runs on an RBI double and a wild pitch. However, FIU continued to chip away, cutting the deficit to 4-2 in the third when Serrano's bloop single dropped between shallow right and second base.
FIU's pitching settled in during the middle innings, led by left-hander Juan Villarreal, who silenced the Bulls' offense. He retired 10 of the 12 batters he faced over 3.1 innings while striking out five.
The Panthers pulled within a run in the fifth when Serrano delivered a sacrifice fly to deep center, scoring Brylan West. In the eighth, freshman Sebastian Berrios came through in the clutch, driving in the game-tying run with a sacrifice fly—his first career RBI.
South Florida regained the lead in the bottom of the eighth, taking advantage of a two-out RBI single and a wild pitch to push ahead 6-4. FIU refused to go down quietly, putting together a rally in the ninth. After getting the first two batters on, the Panthers cut the deficit to one on a Serrano RBI groundout. However, the Bulls held on to secure the 6-5 win.
Offensively, FIU recorded nine hits, led by Serrano's three-hit, three-RBI performance, which included a double. Ulloa and Hector Candelas each tallied two hits, while West and Kishon Frett added one apiece.
On the mound, Owen Puk made the start, allowing four earned runs over 1.2 innings. Tracen Cameron posted a career-high five strikeouts in 2.2 innings while surrendering two earned runs. Jaydon Bishop pitched the final out in the eighth.
UP NEXT
FIU will host Merrimack for a four-game series beginning on Friday, Feb. 28. First pitch from FIU Baseball Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m.
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