MIAMI – The FIU baseball program launched three home runs en route to a dominant 10–4 win over Liberty on Saturday at FIU Baseball Stadium.
The Panthers (27–24, 10–12 C-USA) picked up their 23rd home victory of the season, the most in a single season since 2014. A win on Sunday would clinch a spot in the Conference USA Championship, set to take place in Lynchburg, Virginia.
FIU wasted no time flexing its power at the plate. In the second inning, Javier Crespo blasted a 417-foot, two-run homer to left field—his third of the season—to give the Panthers an early 2–0 lead.
Liberty (28-23, 8-15 CUSA) responded with a run in the third, but the Panthers answered in a big way. Andrew Ildefonso ripped a two-run double into left-center field, scoring Cole Cleveland and Kishon Frett. Later in the inning, Austin Dearing homered in his second consecutive game, going the opposite way for his fifth of the season.
Frett kept the momentum rolling into the fourth, smashing a two-run shot to deep center field—his conference-leading 19th home run of the year—to extend the lead to 8–1.
The Flames scored two in the fifth, but FIU added a pair of insurance runs. Dearing came home on a passed ball, and Brendan Roney added a sacrifice fly to center to make it 10–3. Liberty added the fourth run in the eighth before FIU set them down to earn the win
On the mound, Jarek Woodward made his fourth start of the season and earned the win, tossing a season-high 4.1 innings while allowing four hits, three earned runs, and recording two strikeouts. Jaydon Bishop provided 3.1 solid innings of relief, giving up one run with three strikeouts. Bryce Turner closed it out, extending his scoreless streak to 8.1 innings with 1.1 no-hit innings and three strikeouts.
Offensively, the Panthers racked up eight hits. Brylan West posted his third straight multi-hit game, while Frett extended his on-base streak to 34 games. Cleveland, Crespo, Dearing, Ildefonso, and Alec Ulloa each contributed a hit.
UP NEXT
FIU prepares for the home finale on Sunday, May 11 at Noon. Senior day ceremonies are set at 11:40 a.m. and it will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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