MIAMI – The FIU baseball program bounced back on Sunday afternoon, securing an 8-6 victory over Bucknell in the series finale at FIU Baseball Stadium.
The Panthers (14-8) never trailed in the contest, holding off a late Bucknell (8-10) rally to clinch the win in their final non-conference weekend before opening Conference USA (CUSA) play at home against Jacksonville State next weekend.
FIU struck early with a three-run second inning. Making his first collegiate start,
Ryan Hunter put the Panthers on the board with a sacrifice fly.
Nelson Rivera Flores and
Kareh Valentin followed with RBI singles, giving FIU an early advantage.
Bucknell responded with an RBI single in the third, but FIU quickly answered in the bottom half as
Javier Crespo drove in
Andrew Ildefonso with a sacrifice fly. The Bison added another run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly before the Panthers capitalized on a wild pitch to extend their lead.
Crespo tallied his second RBI of the day with another sacrifice fly in the seventh, helping FIU build an 8-2 cushion after tacking on two more runs in the inning.
Bucknell mounted a comeback with a four-run eighth inning, highlighted by a two-run homer and a pair of RBI singles to trim the deficit to two. With two outs and two inherited runners,
Jarek Woodward entered in relief and recorded the final four outs to notch his first save as a Panther.
On the mound,
Juan Villarreal (4-1) made his second start of the week, allowing two earned runs over five solid innings while striking out four—setting a new season high for innings pitched.
Owen Puk was effective in relief, tossing two no-hit innings with two strikeouts, while
David Eckaus added one strikeout despite allowing four earned runs.
Offensively, FIU tallied six hits but benefited from 10 free passes. Valentin led the way with the team's only multi-hit performance, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and reaching base three times. Ildefonso contributed with two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and a base hit, while freshman
Cole Cleveland chipped in with an infield single and two free passes.
UP NEXT
FIU begins Conference play on Friday, March 21 vs Jacksonville State. First pitch from FIU Baseball Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
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