MIAMI – The FIU baseball program dropped a 20-17 slugfest to the Holy Cross Crusaders on Sunday afternoon at FIU Baseball Stadium, falling in the series finale.
Leading 15-12 entering the ninth inning, the Crusaders erupted for eight runs on six hits to complete the comeback and secure their first win of the season. The loss snapped FIU's six-game winning streak.
In a back-and-forth affair, Holy Cross struck first with three early runs before FIU answered immediately with power in the bottom half. Cooper Rasmussen led off the inning with a solo home run, and with Andrew Ildefonso aboard, Luca Reyes continued his standout weekend with a two-run blast to left-center — his fourth homer of the season. One batter later, Samuel Fischer launched a towering shot to right-center, giving the Panthers back-to-back home runs and a 4-3 lead.
FIU added two more runs in the third on a sacrifice fly and an RBI walk to make it 6-5. Holy Cross responded with four runs between the fourth and sixth innings to take a 9-6 advantage.
The Panthers answered emphatically in the sixth, plating seven runs on four hits. A Vicente Feliciano single and Rasmussen walk set the stage for Ildefonso, who drove a ball into the right-center gap to score Feliciano. Reyes followed with a two-run double to tie the game at nine. Four batters later, with the bases loaded, Mario Trivella launched a grand slam to deep left — marking FIU's second straight game with a grand slam — to cap the inning and give the Panthers a 13-9 lead.
Holy Cross trimmed the deficit with three runs in the seventh, but FIU added insurance in the eighth as Fischer tripled to deep center and Aidan Cohall drove in a run via hit-by-pitch to extend the lead to 15-12.
The Crusaders' decisive ninth inning flipped the momentum, and despite a two-run double from Ildefonso in the bottom half, FIU fell 20-17.
Offensively, the Panthers recorded 14 hits, with four players posting multi-hit performances. Fischer turned in a career day, collecting his first four-hit game — a home run, triple, two singles and a walk — while driving in two runs. He finished the weekend with nine hits and seven RBI.
Reyes capped a stellar series with three hits, four RBI, a double and a homer Sunday. He totaled six hits, three home runs and 13 RBI over the weekend. Trivella drove in a team-high five RBI, while Feliciano added two hits. Rasmussen reached base four times via two walks and two hit-by-pitches.
On the mound, Jordan Vargas made his second start of the season, allowing five runs over four innings with four strikeouts. Mason Koczwara tossed two innings in relief, surrendering three runs, while Clayton Sherwood gave up three runs in one inning. Bryce Turner allowed four runs in the ninth inning. Tracen Cameron took the loss, and Rene Lastres closed out the game with an inning of work.
UP NEXT
FIU hit the road to Gainesville, Fla. to face the nationally ranked Florida Gators for a two-game series from Tuesday Feb. 24 - Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Condron Family Ballpark. It will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
