JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – FIU's baseball program fell 7-2 to Jacksonville State in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium in Conference USA (CUSA) play.
 
Jacksonville State struck first in the opening inning, using a passed ball to take an early 1-0 lead. FIU (13-26, 5-13 CUSA) answered in the fourth, as Mario Trivella launched a solo home run to right field, his ninth of the season, to tie the game at 1-1.
 
The Gamecocks regained control in the fourth with a sacrifice bunt that brought home a run, then added on with an RBI double in the fifth and an RBI walk in the seventh to extend the lead to 4-1.
 
FIU cut into the deficit in the eighth inning. After Andrew Ildefonso drew a walk and Cole Cleveland singled to put runners on the corners, Trivella lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Ildefonso and make it 4-2.
 
Jacksonville State responded in the bottom half of the inning, plating three runs on a pair of home runs to secure the series sweep.
 
On the mound, Julian Mlodzinski made his team-leading ninth start of the season, allowing one earned run over six innings while striking out four. The outing marked his second consecutive quality start and second start with six innings pitched of the season. Cooper Foster also saw action, while Tyrus Riley added a scoreless inning with one strikeout. Bryce Turner worked the eighth inning, allowing three earned runs with one strikeout.
 
Offensively, FIU recorded four hits, led by Caden Sammler's two-hit performance. Sammler extended his hitting streak to five games and recorded his third two-hit game in the last five contests. Cleveland and Trivella also added hits, while Trivella drove in runs in all three games of the series.

UP NEXT
FIU hits the road to face the FGCU Eagles on Tueday, April 21 in Fort Myers. First pitch from Swanson Stadium is set for 6:30 PM and can be streamed on ESPN+.

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