BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The FIU baseball program dropped the series finale to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, 9-3, Sunday afternoon at Nick Denes Field to conclude the opening Conference USA (CUSA) series.
 
FIU (7-14, 0-3 CUSA) trailed 2-0 early before tying the contest in the fourth inning, but Western Kentucky responded with seven runs to secure the series sweep.
 
The Hilltoppers struck first in the opening inning on an RBI single before adding another run on an RBI groundout in the third to take a 2-0 lead.
 
FIU answered in the fourth after Samuel Fischer, Andrew Ildefonso and Cooper Rasmussen opened the inning with three consecutive singles. Aidan Cohall then lined an RBI double to left field to score Fischer, while Mario Trivella followed with a game-tying RBI groundout to even the score at 2-2.
 
Western Kentucky regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning with an inside-the-park home run. The Hilltoppers added two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to extend their lead to 7-2.
 
WKU pushed across two more runs in the eighth on an RBI double and a wild pitch. FIU added a run in the ninth when Cole Cleveland ripped an RBI double down the right-field line, bringing the final score to 9-3.
 
On the mound, Julian Mlodzinski made his fourth start of the season and set a career high with five innings pitched, allowing five earned runs with one strikeout. Bryce Turner tossed two innings in relief, allowing two runs while striking out three. Mason Koczwara also saw action, surrendering two runs over one inning.
 
Offensively, FIU recorded nine hits, led by multi-hit performances from Cleveland and Cohall. Cohall collected two doubles on the afternoon and now leads the team with 12 doubles this season, which also tops Conference USA. Fischer and Ildefonso each reached base twice with a hit and a hit-by-pitch, while Tracen Cameron added a base hit in the loss.

UP NEXT
FIU is set to host the Miami Hurricanes in a crosstown clash on Wednesday, March 18 at 6 p.m.. It will be streamed live on ESPN+ from FIU Baseball Stadium.

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