MIAMI – The FIU baseball program erupted for six runs in the second inning and seven more in the fourth to power past Villanova, 13-3, on Saturday afternoon at FIU Baseball Stadium.
"I thought both offensive explosions really started on the mound. We got that big inning in the bottom of the second and then came back with a quick shutdown frame in the top of the third," head coach
Rich Witten said. "From there,
George Adams really settled in and finished his outing strong."
Wearing their VICEU uniforms, the Panthers responded in emphatic fashion after falling behind 3-0 early. FIU (1-1) answered with a six-run second inning highlighted by five hits.
Luca Reyes ignited the rally with a leadoff solo home run. After walks to
Samuel Fischer and
Boston Doeschot helped load the bases, catcher
Aris Rivera delivered a game-tying single to left field to make it 3-3.
FIU kept the pressure on as
Andrew Ildefonso drove in a run on a groundout before
Cole Cleveland lined an RBI single to center to give the Panthers a 5-3 lead.
Aidan Cohall capped the inning with an RBI double to left-center, extending the advantage to 6-3.
The Panthers broke the game open in the fourth. Villanova issued four straight walks to open the inning—
Vicente Feliciano, Ildefonso, Cleveland and Cohall—forcing in a run. Reyes followed with an RBI groundout, and with the bases loaded, Doeschot ripped a two-run single to right to push the lead to 10-3.
Moments later, shortstop
Mario Trivella launched a three-run home run to cap the seven-run frame and extend the lead to 13-3.
FIU's bullpen shut the door from there, allowing just one hit and striking out 10 batters across the final six innings.
Julian Mlodzinski earned his first win of the season, tossing three scoreless innings with four strikeouts while setting a career high in innings pitched.
Enrique Sierra added a scoreless seventh, and
Clayton Sherwood and
Mason Koczwara closed out the eighth and ninth.
Left-hander
George Adams made the start for FIU, allowing three runs over three innings with three strikeouts.
Offensively, the Panthers totaled 10 hits. Reyes and Doeschot each recorded multi-hit performances, while seven Panthers collected at least one hit. FIU also drew 13 walks in the contest.
UP NEXT
FIU prepares for the rubber match on Sunday, Feb. 15 at noon from FIU Baseball Stadium. It will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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