MIAMI - There's something about Saturdays and walk-offs at FIU Baseball Stadium.
Andrew Ildefonso delivered the latest heroics Saturday evening, launching a towering three-run walk-off home run to lift the FIU baseball program past Stony Brook, 10-9.
Trailing 9-7 entering the bottom of the ninth, FIU (7-5) looked to respond after surrendering four runs in the top half. Preston Leon and Samuel Fischer opened the inning with singles to put the tying runs aboard, setting the stage for Ildefonso. The redshirt sophomore sent a towering blast over the fence for his second home run of the season, securing FIU's fourth walk-off win of the year and third walk-off homer in the young 2026 campaign.
"This is what you live for, this is why you play baseball," Ildefonso said. "Everybody is fighting their tails off and it's been a fun experience."
Stony Brook struck first with a two-run homer in the opening inning. FIU answered in the bottom half when Aidan Cohall roped a double to deep center to score Fischer. In the second, Mario Trivella crushed his team-leading fifth home run of the season to even the score at 2-2.
The Seawolves regained the lead in the fifth after drawing two RBI walks with the bases loaded to make it 4-2. FIU responded in the sixth with a four-run frame, highlighted by an RBI walk from Cohall, a Boston Doeschot fielder's choice, and an RBI single to right from Aris Rivera to give the Panthers a 6-4 advantage. An RBI groundout in the seventh trimmed the lead to 6-5 before FIU added insurance in the eighth on a sharp RBI double to left, scoring Cohall and pushing the margin to 7-5.
Stony Brook rallied again in the ninth, scoring four runs on a hit-by-pitch, a two-run single, and an RBI groundout to take a 9-7 lead. But once again, FIU had the final answer.
On the mound, George Adams made the start against his former team after playing for Stony Brook in 2025. The left-hander tossed four innings, allowing two earned runs while striking out a season-high six. Tyrus Riley worked one-third of an inning with a strikeout, while Enrique Sierra allowed one run across two innings. Bryce Turner threw 1.2 innings, surrendering two earned runs, and Julian Mlodzinski earned his second win of the season with two-thirds of an inning in relief.
Offensively, FIU totaled nine hits, with multi-hit performances from Fischer and Trivella. Ildefonso extended his hitting streak to 12 games while driving in three runs. Cohall reached base twice with an RBI and a walk, and Luca Reyes added a hit on the night.
UP NEXT
FIU prepares for the final game of the series on Sunday, March 1 at noon. It will be streamed live on ESPN+ from FIU Baseball Stadium.
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