MARIETTA, Ga. – Despite a career outing from Easton Marks, the FIU baseball program dropped the series opener, 3-1, to Kennesaw State on Thursday night at S. Walter Kelly Sr. Memorial Field.
Marks turned in a career-high seven innings on the mound, allowing just one earned run and striking out eight. The right-hander kept the Panthers (22-15, 6-6 CUSA) in the contest throughout his start, but a few key plays helped the Owls (18-19, 8-5 CUSA) secure the 3-1 win.
Kennesaw State struck in the third inning, scoring twice on a bunt RBI single followed by a run coming home on an FIU error. The Owls tacked on an insurance run in the fifth with another bunt RBI to extend their lead to 3-0.
FIU threatened in the sixth, loading the bases before Brendan Roney delivered a sacrifice fly to center field that brought home Javier Crespo, trimming the deficit to 3-1. However, the Panthers were unable to push across any more runs.
Marks was tagged with the loss and now sits at 2-3 on the season. Jaydon Bishop pitched a clean eighth inning in relief, striking out two.
At the plate, FIU recorded four hits on the night from Austin Dearing, Marc Hersh, Brendan Roney, and Brylan West. Dearing continued his strong stretch at the plate, extending his hitting streak to six games and recording a hit in eight of his last nine contests.
UP NEXT
FIU prepare for game two of the series on Friday, April 18 at 6 p.m. It will be streamed live on ESPN+ from S. Walter Kelly Sr. Memorial Field.
BAPTIST HEALTH
Presented by Baptist Health, The Official Sports Medicine Provider of FIU Athletics
SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIUBaseball on Facebook and @FIUBaseball on Twitter and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.
